Daizen Maeda presents Celtic stick or twist choice for Brendan Rodgers but one man is tailor made for Munich

Rodgers admits he's debated which front three combo of Maeda, Adam Idah, Nicolas Kuhn and Jota he should deploy

Man of the moment Daizen Maeda gave Bayern Munich something to think about six days ago... now he’s left Brendan Rodgers with a major decision to make.

The striker was moved into a central striking position last week for the final part of the game and caused the Germans major issues. He also netted the all-important goal that gives Celtic a fighting chance going into the second leg in the Allianz Arena tomorrow evening. And that leaves the Celtic manager with a major call to make – does he drop Adam Idah, put Jota on the left and play Maeda through the middle? Or does he stick with the front three that started last week and start Maeda left, Idah central and Nicolas Kuhn wide right?

Rodgers admitted: “It’s certainly something that we looked at and talked about as coaches. But whatever we go with, whether it’s Adam Idah or Daizen, we still have the ability to fix the game. So yeah, it’s something that, of course, the design of the team and what it is we want to do, it was sort of a consideration.”

If Maeda was to start then it is likely that Jota would play on the left. He is still edging towards full fitness but Rodgers knows he is a man for the big occasion and there are few bigger than Bayern away. Rodgers confirmed: “Yeah, if we decide that’s what we need to do, he can start the game. “There’s no doubt he’s working his way back to his highest level physically, in terms of how I want the team to press.

“But there’s no doubt he can look after the ball and in arenas like this here, you need players that can take the ball and look after it. So he’s a wonderful player. I’ve seen the talent now close up. I’ve seen him in the games and it’s just about working his way back to that highest level and if I need him to start, he’s ready to start.”

The Celtic boss, though, knows if they are to overturn the 2-1 deficit and pull off their own Mission Impossible then it will require a monumental effort from all his players, the starters and finishers. Rodgers said: “We look at the game and decide on a plan for the game. Whatever team starts we will need the players that come on from the side to also affect the game.

“It will be a demanding level physically and we are prepared for that. “We didn’t give much away defensively. The team worked really well and in the last 25 minutes we were able to show our football. We will need all that in the game.”

Celtic’s success under Rodgers has been built on their goals and attacking play. The basis for any result tomorrow evening will need to be based on strong rearguard performance, along with a cutting edge. That is something that Celtic have added to their game in this Champions League campaign.

Rodgers claimed: “Absolutely, we have a chance. That was the key for us going into the two legs. It is important coming into the second game that you still have that opportunity.

“We had to be smart and we will need to be smart again tomorrow. We have players who score goals. For us, we defended well and didn’t give too much away. We were disappointed with the goals we gave away and the timings, especially the second one.

“We know we can defend at this level and it is just about having the courage and bravery to go and play our game. That will be key for us. It is a beautiful pitch, the arena is amazing and it is the second leg.

“We want to make sure we leave everything out there. As I have mentioned, anything is possible in the game. Anything can happen and hopefully we can go and produce a performance that gives us the result in the end.”

Their last visit in Germany ended with some red faces as Borussia Dortmund beat them 7-1 earlier in the competition. Rodgers knows his side have learned lessons from that and are now a very different proposition. Their manager explained: “I think you can become too emotional at this level and I think that’s clearly what happened for us in Dortmund."

It is also a match where Rodgers knows all the pressure is on their hosts because they are big favourites and this year’s final will be played in the Allianz Arena. "I think in the Dortmund game we chased the game after we were behind,” Rodgers acknowledged.

“The lessons that we learned from that, of course, you know what our plan was to be stable and steady and compact. We showed that if you’re not that and you go off piste as such, then you can get really, really punished.

“I think that’s been the big learning for us from that game is that if you’re not tight and you’re not stable and you’re not compact and you’re not concentrated and you leave space for world-class players, you’ll get punished.

“So we were able to learn from that setback, go away and it’s the mark of the group that we’re a humble group. We had to take that on the chin and we came away and had some really good performances after that.

“So yeah, and then we’ve taken it into our games at Atalanta and other games where we’ve been calm and are defending. It is in the balance and we have to defend well and then provide that threat with the ball. So hopefully we can see that tomorrow.”