Callum McGregor played down any “excuses” over Celtic’s Champions League exit – after a potential foul in the build-up to Bayern Munich’s decisive goal was flagged to the skipper.
Alphonso Davies cancelled out Nicolas Kuhn’s goal to send the Hoops out of Europe’s elite competition in a 3-2 aggregate defeat despite a brave performance at the Allianz Arena – but before the crucial leveller on the night the Celtic players appealed for a foul on Maeda. Dayot Upamecano appeared to make contact with the forward’s face near his own box before he went to the ground before referee Benoit Bastien waved play on.
The Bundesliga heavyweights would go up the opposite end and Davies would bundle the ball into the net following Cameron Carter-Vickers‘ failed clearance. The flashpoint sparked fury among the Parkhead faithful, with one supporter posting to X: “That’s a foul all day long.”
Another chimed in: “The ref looks back then let’s play continue. He calls that correct, that goal doesn’t happen.” One punter claimed: “Head injury, ref was a joke.”.
But McGregor took a more relaxed approach despite the Champions League heartbreak, telling Prime Sports: “It can be a factor but we don’t really want to use things like that as an excuse. We go right through the game and there are some things that could be different. It’s a real sore one but I think we can be proud of ourselves.
“There has been a lot of belief, growth and confidence in the team (during the campaign). So we have to bank that and continue on it as I think anyone watching tonight could see a good Celtic team.”