Celtic v Bayern Munich – “We’ll go there to fight,” Jota

The Celtic Star

·17 February 2025

Celtic v Bayern Munich – “We’ll go there to fight,” Jota

After Celtic’s comfortable win over Dundee United at Celtic Park this week, Jota revealed in his post-match interview with Celtic TV that he is happy to be home and that the Celtic support has given him something special…

Jota of Celtic celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Wizard of the Wing returned to the club after a short spell in Saudi Arabia and then France, where he learned that money isn’t everything in football.

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Jota has hit the ground running back at Celtic

He admitted on his return that it felt great to be back where his heart belongs and that it would maybe take him a while to get back to his best, after spending so long out of the fold in Ligue 1. He’s certainly not taken long to get up to speed though, as he’s already delivered in the short period he’s been back in Scottish football, with another goal against Dundee United at the weekend.

Jota of Celtic celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Superstar from Portugal

The Superstar from Portugal says that the Hoops give him something that he’s never had before, and he’s so glad that he’s come back to Paradise. “Returning is definitely something special,” he said. “Celtic fans always make me feel so happy.

“They’ve given me something that nobody has ever given to me. In the end, I just want to give something back to the fans and give them happiness and joy. I want to give the best of myself on the pitch, and as a group we want to deliver and win titles as well.”

Jota praises Callum McGregor

Callum McGregor of Celtic celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Jota also paid tribute to his skipper and insisted Callum showed everyone his class with that effort to open the scoring against United.

“It was a crazy goal, a really good one!, he said. “He showed his class and the first goal is always important. It’s the one that gives us a release and the game becomes more open which allows us to do our stuff. So it was good to have the goal from him.

‘We had our strategy’

“We had our strategy and then it was about putting that together on the pitch. We have our intensity, we’re dynamic and we have the flow. In the end we delivered and I’m very pleased with that.”

Jota of Celtic scores the second goal during the Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It’s all eyes on Munich now and the glitz and glamour of the Allianz Arena for Jota and his teammates. They are 2-1 down to Bayern from the first-leg at Celtic Park, but know they need to give a good account of themselves to stand any chance of getting back into the tie this Tuesday night.

‘We can do very interesting stuff’

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s big match, he added: “We’ll go there to fight. We know it will be a very difficult challenge. Bayern Munich are one of the best teams in the world, but I think everyone could see in the last game that we can do very interesting stuff. We’ll go over there with the same mentality, to do good things, to look for the result and to hopefully get the win.”

Paul Gillespie

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