WHEN the festivities were wound up and all the empties counted, it was found a total of 7.2m litres of beer had been consumed during Munich’s 2017 Oktoberfest.

As a travelling band of Celtic supporters which stretched to around the 6,000 mark will have made a pretty sizeable dent in that figure in the last few days, they were either drowning their sorrows or simply toasting their good fortune that this 3-0 defeat wasn't heavier.

There was a dark irony that players from both teams should parade Uefa’s latest buzzword #EqualGame before kick-off. While that, ostensibly, is a directive against discrimination in the global game, there was nothing remotely equal about the teams in this game, nor the resources available to them. Early season crisis or not, this was meat and drink to Bayern Munich. Celtic just had to suck it up.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers defends tactics after Bayern Munich defeat and insists Celtic can still progress in Europe​

That early season Bavarian intrigue, of course, related to the sacking of the venerable Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian’s services dispensed with for the apparent crime of two losses from their first 12 games. His replacement Jupp Heynckes was the last man to deliver a Champions League victory for the Bavarians and – as much as a 3-0 defeat to Paris St Germain dented their prestige – on this evidence it would be foolish indeed to write off their chances of a repeat.

The usual sages searching for a weak link in the Germans’ formidable armoury had alighted pre-match upon the presence of Sven Ulreich in goal. He, apparently, is no Manuel Neuer. But there was just one problem: for most of this match Celtic could hardly get near him.

By the end, the Parkhead side might have come away with a goal for their efforts, but for great swathes of this game Heynckes could pretty much have put a mannequin in there with the same outcome. Eventually, perhaps frustrated with the efforts of those in front of him, Kieran Tierney ventured forward to test him a couple of times, before the stand-in proved his mettle with a decent double save from substitutes Moussa Dembele and Tom Rogic.

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Instead, there was just one defence which looked makeshift yesterday – Celtic’s. Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong were happily able to return after their muscle issues, but the continued absence of Jozo Simunovic with a hamstring problem presented Brendan Rodgers with a selection headache the only remedy for which was way past its sell-by date – signing further defensive cover during the summer. A failed medical was all that prevented the club from securing the services of Rivaldo Coetzee from Ajax Cape Town during the transfer window, but the front office's failure to land more cover in that position is sure to come under the microscope again in the next few days.

While Tierney could be expected to hold his end up even against the veteran smarts of Arjen Robben - a task he stuck to gamely - Rodgers looked at his options and decided the least worst of them was to pitch Cristian Gamboa, freshly qualified for Russia 2018 with Costa Rica, in at right back, moving Mikael Lustig in one alongside Dedryck Boyata.

However good Bayern are, they didn’t really have to be to get past this defence last night. With two bits of benevolent officiating to thank just for reaching the ten-minute mark unmolested - it was unclear whether Robert Lewandowski had overrun the ball prior to Thiago Alcantara's finish, then the referee missed Lustig having a handful of the Pole's shirt - another mix-up with the offside line gave Lewandowski the freedom of the penalty box.

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As only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more Champions League goals in the last few seasons, he was probably worth marking. Craig Gordon made a fine diving save, but Thomas Muller lapped up the rebound.

Kingsley Coman, the quicksilver Frenchman, was torturing Gamboa, and this game was over as a contest when Joshua Kimmich met one cross with a perfect looping header. After a breather at half time, Mats Hummels beat Brown and Boyata to an Arjen Robben corner to make it three.

With Griffiths chasing scraps, it wasn't until Rodgers reached for the replacements' bench that Celtic had an injection of positivity. James Forrest stung the palms of Ulreich after a storming run, Scott Sinclair had a 'goal' ruled out for a marginal offside, then Brown missed a headed chance from an offside position close in. But by then this match was already won, and given the pedigree of Bayern's own substitutes like Arturo Vidal and James Rodriguez it was a feather in the cap of Craig Gordon that this scoreline was kept to three.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers defends tactics after Bayern Munich defeat and insists Celtic can still progress in Europe​

With PSG comfortably taking care of Anderlecht, at least the Parkhead side remain in the box seat for third.

That was something to keep a smile on faces as Celtic's travelling supporters cheered their side off the Allianz Arena last night and poured back into the watering holes of Munich.

But the gap between these two sides must have been sobering stuff for any of the dreamers and idealists out there who felt the Scottish Champions ever had more than third place to aim for from this group. Coming up with better answers the next time these teams meet in a fortnight's time can wait. Suddenly the more pressing, priority for Brendan Rodgers is to ensure there is no hangover from these high jinks in Saturday lunchtime's BetFred Cup semi-final against Hibs.