Alistair Johnston felt Celtic heartbreaker's impact before last gasp goal and admits 'it had to be him'

Alastair Johnston reckons Celtic were heroic before one of his Bayern best mates broke his Champions League heart.

The Hoops took a stunning lead in the Allianz Arena through Nicolas Kuhn. It had looked like it was going to take Brendan Rodgers side into extra time before fellow Canadian, Alphonso Davies, hit a 94th minute equaliser to deny them. Johnston said: “Yeah, I've touched on it before. I mean, he is an unbelievable player and it had to be him, didn't it, coming on and scoring in pretty much the last kick of the game.

“Yeah, I thought that he changed the game for them a little bit, on that left side especially. I felt it. Obviously, you know, defending down that channel, just his directness, his ability to go at guys and create. So, no, it's good to see him back, obviously from a Canadian perspective. We've got some massive matches coming up in March. He's our captain. He's our best player.

“He's someone that we really rely on. But, yeah, I wouldn't have minded if he waited a couple more days. But, no, I'm happy for him. Obviously, if it had to be anyone, I'm happy that it was him because he deserves it. He's a top-notch player."

Davies gave Johnston his shirt and also sorted some out for the other Celtic squad players. He admitted: “Yeah, I got one. I got a couple others for some young boys.

“He's a great lad. He sorted it out. So he went in there and grabbed an extra handful. So I've got a couple more to give out to guys on the bus.”

Johnston knows Celtic never got the win they needed but he thought it was a statement performance. He emotionally admitted: “It’s vivid right now. It's tough to really put into words, but again, disappointment is definitely not the word that comes to my mind. It was a heroic