Callum McGregor was absolutely magnificent in Munich

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The Celtic Star

·19 February 2025

Callum McGregor was absolutely magnificent in Munich

Callum McGregor put in an outstanding performance for Celtic last night, absolutely shining on the Champions League stage at the Allianz Arena against the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich…

18 02 2025, Allianz Arena, Munich, Champions League, FC Bayern Munich vs Celtic , Callum McGregor Glasgow. Photo by Midori Ikenouchi Hasan Bratic DeFodi Images

An emotional Callum McGregor reflected on Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena last night and declared that football can be a cruel mistress sometimes. The Celtic skipper and his teammates played the game of their lives’ inside that arena yesterday in what was their final UEFA Champions League match of the 2024/25 season.

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Callum McGregor was clearly emotional afterwards, but was so proud of what his teammates had achieved in the German city. When asked by Amazon Prime interviewer Gabriel Clarke to sum it up, Calmac said:

“Probably one of the cruellest to be honest. The performance of the players gave, they gave absolutely everything and pushed a really good Bayern side all the way right to the end, the death, the last kick of the ball,” Callum McGregor

18 02 2025, Champions League, FC Bayern Muenchen vs Celtic Glasgow, Allianz Arena Leon Goretzka FC Bayern Muenchen vs Callum McGregor Celtic. Photo IMAGO

“Sometimes football is cruel, you don’t always get what you deserve but I’m so proud of the players, the way that they played, the way that they handled themselves. We came off the pitch with no regrets. The template of the game was perfect for us, they were getting frustrated and set up to try and nick the next one and even if wqe had to go to extra time we still fancied ourselves,” the Celtic captain said.

When quizzed about a potential foul on Daizen Maeda (not Adam Idah as mentioned in the interview) in the build-up to the Bayern goal, Calmac revealed:

“We don’t really want to use things like that as an excuse. The boys gave an unbelievable effort and I want to focus on that because the performance was outstanding. To come away from home and play like that…it’s a real, real sore one but I think we can be proud of ourselves,” Callum McGregor

Joshua Kimmich FC Bayern Muenchen, 6 , Serge Gnabry FC Bayern Muenchen, 7 and Callum McGregor Celtic Glasgow, 18 02 2025, UEFA Champions League, Playoffs, FC Bayern Muenchen Celtic Glasgow, Allianz Arena, Photo HMB Media/ Heiko Becker

McGregor added: “We have [gained]a lot of belief, confidence, a lot of growth in the boys. We have to bank that and continue to build on it because I think anyone watching that game will have seen a really good Celtic team.”

Paul Gillespie