DEDRYCK BOYATA is clear that Celtic must not be struck by the same feeling of intimidation tonight that crippled them in the Allianz Arena two weeks ago.

A jittery and hesitant showing summed up the first hour of Celtic’s Match Day No.3 encounter with Bayern Munich romping into an unassailable 3-0 lead with goals coming from Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels.

It was a beginning which was never likely to lead to a happy ending as Bayern’s super stars cranked into top gear. Tonight, however, is a chance for redemption for Boyata & Co.

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The Herald: Celtic's Dedryck Boyata

The Belgian acknowledged yesterday the deficiencies in that performance while taking heart they can do much better. Just three points separate the teams as they meet tonight for the fourth out of six group games, and the centre-half appeared fearless in his quest to right the wrongs of two weeks ago.

“I’m not sure but we were definitely disappointing over in Munich,” he said.

“It was a very good opportunity for us to go there and play in a big stadium in front of a lot of fans. Sometimes there is a bit of intimidation when you know who you are playing against but this is something we need to overcome. I’m sure we will be better on Tuesday night.

“I think anything is possible. It will be difficult but everyone can dream. We’re playing against another 11 players that are as human as us. I don’t think we can say it’s impossible, so we will just go for it.

“That is what we were saying to ourselves when we went there for the away game. We were level on points and that’s why it was so disappointing because we did not play as we wanted. But now they are only three points ahead of us after that game, so this is a big opportunity for us to show what we can do.”

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It is one of football’s greatest parallels.

On one hand you have a team that have just equalled a century-old unbeaten record with 62 domestic wins. On the other, is the prospect of going toe to toe with a true colossus of world football. It’s a switch in level and focus that has delivered mixed results already.

A 5-0 loss to PSG here and

that 3-0 defeat in Munich highlights a chasm in class from the Premiership to the Champions League, but comfort can be sought in the 3-0 victory Celtic cruised to in Anderlecht with a performance dripping in dominance, discipline and ruthlessness.

All three qualities will need to be on display here if the impossible is to become reality for Boyata, but the Belgian was keen to accentuate the positive. Bayern come to Scotland without injured Polish hitman Robert Lewandowski. Boyata was reluctant to herald this news as some sort of open goal for his team given the options

Jupp Henyckes has, but says their focus has not wavered.

“The manager told us in the meeting this morning that he didn’t travel with the team but it doesn’t really change anything for us,” he said. “With or without him, this game was always going to be very tough for us.

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“I watched them play RB Leipzig without him on Saturday and they still won 2-0. It’s still Bayern Munich and, even though they don’t have Lewandowski, they will find a solution. They will find a way around it, although I’ve no idea what that will be.

“Arturo Vidal has played as a false No.9

for them before so that could be the situation tomorrow night. I’ve not played against a 4-6-0 formation before!

“It doesn’t really matter once you play teams at that level. Top strikers like Lewandowski don’t really like contact with defenders. As a centre-back, you always need to be alert because they are constantly trying to find space to make things difficult for us. That makes it hard to stay touch-tight to them because they’re moving all the time.

“I think that will be the case this time – they’ll just rotate the strikers and the No.10 – so that doesn’t change what we have to do. Lewandowski is an important player for them and they might have a slightly different approach but our job will stay the same – we need to stay focused.”

Boyata seemed at ease at the pressure falling on his young shoulders tonight.

Once again he will be at the heart of a makeshift central defence, most likely with Nir Bitton to his side. Mikael Lustig was the man to partner him in the Allianz, but with Cristian Gamboa roasted on the right-side, Lustig will most likely be put back to his natural position with Bitton being given the nod.

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It’s a position the Israeli is steadily growing into with a little help from his friend, and Boyata says he has no fears about Bitton – who was criticised for his performance in Astana – marshalling the Celtic defence against the mighty Germans.

He said: “How much have I been helping him? A lot! A lot! I love Nir. He is a very good player. It’s different for him to play centre back but it’s something he can learn.

Game after game he just gets better and better.

‘If he does play there tomorrow I have

100 per cent confidence in Nir. It must be difficult for him. I would find it difficult being asked to play in midfield. But he is great on the ball and he shows confidence and he is 100 per cent always focused. He will be 100 per cent ready to play against Bayern Munich.

“I was on the same side as the manager. As a team we needed him to play there. If the manager needed me to play as a striker I would do it and I would try as hard as I can to score goals. But it’s difficult. You just need to keep learning and improving.”