CRAIG Gordon says Celtic will not deviate from their footballing philosophy against Bayern Munich despite having been beaten 3-0 in Germany.
The Bundesliga giants arrive at Celtic Park on Tuesday just two weeks after a dominant display in the Champions League at the Allianz Arena.
Their high press and possession play had Celtic penned in for much of the game, with that tactic working particularly well for Bayern’s third goal, which came from a ball out from Gordon at the back to Scott Brown that eventually forced a corner.
Despite that, the Celtic goalkeeper says manager Brendan Rodgers and his players are remaining true to their build-from-the-back policy.
“We didn’t have many tall players in the team and that made it a case of passing through the middle which is difficult in any case,” Gordon said. “But with the pace of some of their players, the space you think is there is quickly gone with the speed they can close down. That’s the difference at that level.
“The manager says he would rather we tried to play and keep the ball for 30 or 40 seconds because that’s time when they don’t have the ball and can’t hurt us. So we always try to keep the ball in every game, try to dominate as much we can.
“The higher up we go and the more difficult the opposition, the more difficult that becomes. It’s trying to get the balance between keeping the ball and defending. We need to get that right if we are going to get any results in Europe. Any time we have got that right in Europe we have done particularly well.
“It’s a thin line to get right but you have to try to play that style because if we go in there, kick the ball and wait to get beaten, then that is inevitably what is going to happen.”
Moussa Dembele has come back into the team and into the goals, scoring three in two games before this weekend. His physical presence could be a potential out for Celtic if they do need to go long, but Gordon reckons they will resist that temptation. “Even with Moussa on the pitch, the manager still wants us to play,” he said. “It’s not just a case of smashing it up there but he is a physical presence and that is something he brings to the team. He is a handful for any defence when he’s on his game. He is looking really sharp and fit so that is great for the team.”
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