Jota believes sticking to their attacking principles will give Celtic the best chance of upsetting Bayern Munich and keeping their Champions League campaign alive.
Brendan Rodgers’ side head to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night as underdogs after losing the first leg 2-1 at home.
The Celtic boss warned that a balanced approach would be needed if his team are to progress beyond the Bundesliga leaders and into the last 16.
But Jota, who scored in yesterday’s 3-0 win over Dundee United, felt a more attack-minded strategy could pay dividends, even against such storied opposition.
The Portuguese said: ‘These are the games that we dream of, right? And we are still in the fight. We want to go there and give a good fight as well.
‘We go with everything and believing that it’s possible. (How we play is) up to the manager. He’s the one who decides the tactics, the pressing and the way we play. But obviously, Celtic has a way of playing. And I think we should stick to our principles.
Jota has staked his claim to start in the second leg of Celtic’s Champions League play-off against Bayern Munich
The winger receives a hug from Idah and Yang after opening the scoring against Dundee United
‘I don’t believe when clubs, coaches or players change the entire dynamic of the group just because we are playing against a team that we usually don’t play in a different competition, a bigger competition.
‘So, in my opinion, we should stick to our principles and philosophy. I prefer to go there and play our football instead of changing everything and not being ourselves.
‘Every game is different. No one can say right now what’s going to happen. But both teams are definitely going to fight for the win.
‘I just hope it’s a beautiful game and in the end we can have the score on our side.’
Rodgers also vowed that Celtic would give it their best shot in Bavaria but felt a more measured mindset would be required.
The manager said: ‘We always want to keep our boldness but our humility is important as well. We understand the size of the task but we want to go and give the best that we possibly can.
‘We know we’re going to have to defend for long periods of the game and defend well but we also know that we can cause them a problem with the ball, and that’ll be the idea. It’s about balance.
‘If you go out gung-ho, then you can run out of legs at this level. You see it in the Champions League: you give everything and then all of a sudden you can get picked off with the quality.
Both Adam Idah and captain Callum McGregor found the net in Celtic’s 3-0 win over United
‘There’s always a moment to press the game, especially when you’re away from home.
‘It will be a balanced performance and you need to be concentrated because if you come out of position, that level of quality… you get players throughout the team, especially in attacking areas, that are world class.
‘If you give world-class guys space, they can hurt you. So for us it’s a balance, but a real mentality to be progressive and see if we can make them think.’
With Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda both starting on the bench, Jota made the most of his opportunity yesterday with a man-of-the-match display as he scored his first Celtic Park goal since returning to the club.
‘I know that I still have a long way to go but the sensations are really good at the moment,’ he added. ‘And in the end with the team’s performance, I’m also very happy.’
Jota’s strike was bookended by goals from Callum McGregor and Adam Idah, and Rodgers was pleased with how his team warmed up for the trip to Munich. He added: ‘The performance was excellent, the quality of our football.
‘The surface is difficult at the moment but it was a really high level how we connected the game and all three goals were individual quality. The work we put in right from the first whistle was terrific.’
United boss Jim Goodwin had no choice but to concede his team had been well beaten. ‘We have no arguments about the final outcome,’ he said. ‘We were beaten by the better team on the day.’