Jeffrey Schlupp's monstrous Munich performance analysed

In a strong showing against all of the odds, Brendan Rodgers’ side took the lead in the second half, as former Bayern youth player Nicolas Kuhn took advantage of Kim Min-jae’s poor tackle to open the scoring in Munich. 

Despite an onslaught from the home side, Celtic thought they had done enough to force extra time, before Alphonso Davies sneaked in to intercept Cameron Carter-Vickers’ clearance, his touch helping the ball find its way into the back of Kasper Schmeichel’s net. With under a minute to go in added time, this proved to be the dagger in the game and tie.

Though their European campaign is now over, Celtic arguably produced their finest performance away from home in the Champions League for many years. Using StatsBomb data, analytics and graphics, The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay brings you a match report unlike any other…

Key stats + race chart

No two ways about it, Celtic were under the cosh for large parts of this contest. The hosts had 66 per cent possession to the visitor’s 34, while Bayern peppered 23 shots at Celtic’s goal – with nine forcing an intervention from the brilliant Schmeichel. Rodgers’ brave team had just five shots at goal, with two hitting the target, though their passing was accurate at 84 per cent (353 out of 422 total passes).

Though the home side pulled away at the end with regard to their xG total, Celtic matched them for over 75 minutes in this metric – as shown in the race chart above. Despite this, StatsBomb gave the hosts a 71 per cent chance of winning this contest outright, while Celtic were valued at 10 per cent – a reality that was a minute or so away from occurring on the night. A draw – the end result – was given a 19 per cent probability.

Formation + passing

As is usually the case, Celtic lined up in their familiar 4-3-3 formation for this one, though they made a few changes in personnel. Schmeichel remained in goals, while Alistair Johnston and Jeffrey Schlupp were preferred as Celtic’s full-back options. The usual pairing of Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty were situated in the heart of defence, while captain Callum McGregor played in the base of midfield. He was joined by Arne Engels and Reo Hatate in the engine room, while Daizen Maeda led the line, supported on the left and right-wing respectively by Jota and Kuhn.

As Celtic were under pressure from Bayern for large parts of this contest without the ball, their passing network diagram and OBV statistics respectively are not the greatest. Despite this, it is clear that the team tried to use their two wingers as out-balls, while there was a tendency to distribute possession to McGregor – an understandable habic, given his leadership qualities.

Kuhn and Carter-Vickers were Celtic’s best OBV earners with 0.07, while Jota had 0.06. Trusty, Engels, McGregor, Schmeichel and Hatate all produced negative showings in this metric, though all played their part in the solid defensive showing the side displayed.

A tough night for creativity to truly shine, Engels, Kuhn, Jota and Maeda all contributed just one key pass each in the duration of the match.

Shooting

As mentioned previously, Celtic managed just five shots in total during this match, with two hitting the target in the process – including Kuhn’s goal. Because of this, their shot map looks admittedly bare, given the lack of clear-cut chances that the side managed to make – and take – in the Allianz Arena. 

Celtic’s best moment in the match came from Kuhn in the 63rd minute of the match, following some tireless pressing by Maeda up front. In putting pressure on the Bayern backline, the Japan forward forced Kim into a mistake, as he got his tackle all wrong, surrendering possession to Kuhn, who had just Manuel Neuer to beat.

The German made no mistake, as he slid the ball past the legendary goalkeeper and into his right-hand corner. Easily Celtic’s biggest chance at 0.56 in xG, it skyrocketed to 0.88 in PSxG once the shot left Kuhn’s boot. Here’s hoping his injury sustained minutes after this opener, is not too serious – he is a big-game player for Celtic.

Maeda and Kuhn were Celtic’s top shooting outlets in Germany with two chances each. McGregor contributed the only other shot – an early chance which he skied over the bar after intercepting the ball off of Michael Olise in the middle of the park.

Defending

This area of the pitch is where Celtic deserve the most credit, as their ability to keep Bayern out at the Allianz Arena needs to be congratulated, despite the home team’s poor performance. 

Completing 229 pressures and 34 pressure regains, Rodgers’ team displayed a defensive maturity that will have impressed everyone tuning in on Amazon Prime and beyond last night. 

Unsurprisingly, Maeda let the way in individual pressures for both teams with a massive 46, while Engels was second with 28. Johnston and Schlupp – two of Celtic’s best players on the night – managed 26 and 23, respectively. Kuhn led the way for counterpressures with four, while Yang Hyun-jun, Maeda and Jota each had three.

There is only one place to start when talking about defensive stats – that is of Celtic’s loanee left-back Schlupp, who may have earned himself a permanent deal after a standout performance in Germany. With EIGHT combined tackles and interceptions (four each), NINE clearances and four aerial duel wins, the Ghanaian was everywhere for his team defensively. 

For comparison, Trusty and Carter-Vickers managed six and seven clearances, while only the former managed to win two aerial battles – the pair only had three tackles combined! Maeda was a useful outlet on the opposite end, contributing four tackles and interceptions, as well as two duels in the air. Johnston made five clearances in 94 minutes of action – he too was a standout on the right for Celtic.

Final Thoughts

Despite their European campaign now being over, Celtic did themselves proud on the night, as they gave Bayern Munich a monumental scare in their own backyard. The words ‘pride’, ‘proud’ and ‘brave’ have been used extensively online over the past day or so – they are all accurate and hold validity amongst those who follow the club. 

This matches up with how Celtic defended on the night, as the likes of Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Johnston and especially Schlupp were brave, taking pride in their work in their own half. Even though they came up short, their efforts will not be forgotten in a hurry – they all showed that they belong at the top level competing against the top teams. 

In the case of Schlupp – who was statistically Celtic’s best defender on the night – he has made a major case for his temporary side to make him a permanent option next season – even though Kieran Tierney is due to return. Not many would argue against his case after last night’s showing.

What is abundantly clear is that Rodgers must be backed in the summer, as the European improvements are clear for all to see when watching Celtic in the Champions League. 

Make no mistake: no one will want to draw this side in the qualifiers next summer.