Alex Roberts

Wed 19 February 2025 21:00, UK

Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel took to social media to praise his Bayern Munich counterpart Manuel Neuer after their Champions League clash on Tuesday (February 18).

The 38-year-old played the full 90 minutes as the Scottish champions went crashing out of the Champions League thanks to a late Alphonso Davies goal.

In-form winger Nicolas Kuhn opened the scoring in the 63rd minute at the Allianz Arena, capitalising on a defensive error to slot past Neuer.

Brendan Rodger’s side looked set to take the German giants to extra time but Alphonso Davies scored an equaliser in added time, sending the Bundesliga leaders through.

There was controversy in the build-up to Davies’ goal, however, as Celtic had originally been on the attack when forward Daizen Maeda appeared to be fouled.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Keith Wyness has said that Celtic are set to miss out on an ‘enormous’ £15million payday after being knocked out of Europe’s elite club competition.

Kasper Schmeichel amazed by Manuel Neuer as Celtic crash out

The shot-stopper has been key for Celtic since joining in the summer, starting all 41 of his games across all competitions, conceding 36 goals, and keeping 23 clean sheets across his 3720 minutes of action.

Neuer, also 38, has unsurprisingly been integral for Vincent Kompany, starting all 30 of his games across all competitions, conceding 25 goals, and keeping 16 clean sheets in his 2582 minutes on the field.

The German will surely be eager to add another Champions League title to his already illustrious career, which includes a World Cup, 11 Bundesliga titles, five DFB-Pokals, and two Champions League triumphs.

Schmeichel took to Instagram to praise his Bayern Munich counterpart after their aggregate defeat, saying: “Always an honour to play against one of the best ever….”

Celtic are now able to focus on the Scottish Premier League, sitting 13 points above arch-rivals Rangers in the race for the title.

The current champions recently posted their financial results for the first half of the 2024-25 campaign last week, with profits surging to £44million for that period as they continue to pull away both on and off the pitch.

In other news, Exclusive: Kieran Tierney agrees record-breaking Celtic deal.

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