CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has said he wants to make the Scottish champions a 'seasoned' team in the Champions League after they were edged out of the competition by Bayern Munich.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of their knockout phase play-off, Celtic looked to have forced extra time through a second-half Nicolas Kühn strike.
However, Alphonso Davies forced the ball over the line with just seconds of the four added minutes remaining to seal a 3-2 aggregate win for the Germans and a spot in the last-16.
Despite the aggregate defeat, Rodgers praised the performance of his players against a side who are now unbeaten in their last 21 home games in the competition.
"In terms of the performance, I'm very proud," he told Celtic TV after the game.
"I'm naturally hugely disappointed to concede so late but this is Bayern Munich and we've come out here and played without any fear.
Nicolas Kühn puts Celtic ahead on the night (Image: Sathire Kelpa / Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images)"We had opportunities to win the game, good opportunities, and showed courage with and without the ball.
"It's just pride really as well as disappointment at this moment because the guys gave so much to the game."
He added: "They gave everything to the game. We made it really difficult for Bayern Munich, some of our football was a really good level.
"We managed our way through the game how way we wanted to — we started well, created opportunities, pressed at the right time, sat in at the right moments and didn't give away so much.
"Harry [Kane] hits the crossbar towards the end of the first half but other than that we were in a good place and had three really, really good chances in the first half."
Celtic chances
Having lost the first leg at home and been on the end of a 7-1 thrashing in Germany earlier in the competition against Borussia Dortmund, some may have thought it was a case of how many Bayern would score.
However, Celtic followed up that chastening Dortmund defeat with a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to free-scoring Atalanta, the first match in a five-game unbeaten run in the competition.
Many would have believed Bayern's win in the imposing atmosphere of Celtic Park last week scuppered Celtic's best chance of winning the tie, but the Hoops looked unfazed at the Allianz Arena.
Serge Gnabry had an early opportunity for the hosts but, despite Bayern dominating possession, Celtic created a raft of chances over the next 45 minutes.
First, captain Callum McGregor robbed Michael Olise in midfield and exchanged passes with Daizen Maeda before bearing down on Manuel Neuer's goal but the midfielder failed to test the keeper.
Then, Jota raced on to a long ball forward from Jeffrey Schlupp and gave Josip Stanišić the slip before crossing for Kühn, who steered the ball beyond Neuer only for Raphaël Guerreiro to clear off line.
In the same passage of play, neat interplay between the former Bayern man and Reo Hatate saw the latter find the inrushing Arne Engels, whose ball across the box was agonisingly missed by the outstretched leg of Maeda.
Minutes later, Kühn did find Maeda with a through ball, only for the Japanese forward's first-time curling shot to go wide.
Goalscorer Kühn is congratulated by teammates Jota, Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston and Jeffrey Schlupp (Image: Marco Steinbrenner / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Celtic were given a reminder of Bayern's threat when Harry Kane struck the bar just before the break, while shortly after the interval, Leon Goretzka forced an excellent save from Celtic Kasper Schmeichel.
However, just after the hour mark, the Hoops got the goal their effort deserved, stemming from Maeda typically chasing down a seemingly lost cause and beating Guerreiro to a slack pass from Stanišić.
Maeda laid it off for Kühn charging in from the right and while Kim Min-Jae looked favourite to reach the ball first, his sliding tackle failed to take it out of Kühn's path before the German slotted past Neuer.
However, just as it looked like the visitors had done enough to force extra time, Davies popped up with seconds left on the clock to break Celtic hearts.
Olise picked out Goretzka on the edge of the six-yard the box and while Schmeichel did well to get down low to stop his header, Cameron Carter-Vickers' attempt to clear the loose ball struck the outstretched leg of the inrushing Davies, who bundled it over the line.
'Credibility'
It was a cruel end to Celtic's first foray into the knockout stages for 12 years but Rodgers said he hoped to see Celtic competing regularly in the business end of European competition in the future.
"I look at the performance and my takeaway from Europe is the credibility that we've gained this season," he told Celtic TV.
"We've developed from last season and improved yet again this season and I'm really excited going forward [about] what this team can do."
Alphonso Davies intercepts Cameron Carter-Vickers’ clearance to bundle the ball over the line and seal a 3-2 aggregate victory for Bayern (Image: Markus Gilliar - GES Sportfoto / Getty Images)He added: "My unswerving commitment is to try and make Celtic a seasoned team at this level, and from last season to this season there's improvement and we'll look to make that next season also."
Celtic still have the league and Scottish Cup to play for as they look to add to their League Cup success earlier in the season.
They return to domestic action on Saturday when they travel to Edinburgh to face Hibs in the league, who they also face in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals at Celtic Park on March 9.
