The poor interpreter copped it after the final whistle but you don’t need to be fluent in five languages to know the real source of Ange Postecoglou ’s frustration.
The Celtic manager was fizzing that his side’s superb performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland didn’t result in three points in the bag. And that sense of bubbling ire under the surface is what sums things up for Celtic and Postecoglou right now.
They are bitterly disappointed at just getting a point on the road in the Champions League. For me, that just shows how far they have come. It’s incredible the improvement in Europe from last season. If Celtic had secured a draw after being backs to the wall for 90 minutes then we would have hailed it as a battling result. Instead, there is a huge feeling this was a missed opportunity to collect maximum points.
Listen, it might bite them on the backside later in the group when everything is tallied up. But in the meantime it doesn’t take away from the fact this was a very impressive performance against a more than decent side. In fact, I can’t think of many better away displays in the Champions League – going all the way back to my playing days.
A lot is made out of Celtic’s form on their travels, we all know they have only won twice at this level. But they haven’t achieved many draws either – and they certainly haven’t draw games like they did the other night.
Celtic dominated the entire match, apart from the 10-minute spell after Shakhtar’s goal. The opening half-an-hour onslaught was what we have come to expect from this Celtic team.
But it was the display after the break that impressed me most. Postecoglou will have had a word with them at the interval to get back to doing what they do best, controlling the game, pressing hard and attacking with pace. The changes kept up the momentum after some started to flag and by the end it was Shakhtar who were hanging on and celebrating a point.
I know the Ukraine side have lost a lot of big players but they are still packed with highly-rated talent like Mykhaylo Mudry and Taras Stepanenko. But Celtic completely imposed themselves on them. Scottish teams simply don’t play that way in Europe.
It’s not gone unnoticed either, right across the continent. Taking the game to Real Madrid? Bossing Shakhtar Donetsk?
Postecoglou is ripping up the perception of the Scottish game all over Europe. He’s doing to Scottish football what Pep Guardiola did for the English game. It’s a completely new approach that’s almost unheard of up here.
We’re used to seeing our teams going abroad and trying to shut up shop and hoping to hang on for results. Celtic went out an imposed their game on their rivals. It’s bold, but you know what? It just might work.
We’ve already seen enough to suggest Celtic can compete at this level. If you can create that many chances against Madrid and Shakhtar then you can carve out opportunities against anyone.
Celtic have two games with RB Leipzig now that will be absolutely crucial to their future in this group – but they should show no fear. We know they won’t.
This double header is massive and anything could happen. Celtic could win both games, they could lose them, with any combination of results in between. There is no doubt they are in the fight though.
Expectations might have been fairly low going in but now they are in with a great shout of securing European football beyond Christmas. Most fans would have accepted the Europa League after finishing third in the group, but now?
Anything is possible. The Leipzig games are dangerous as it’s hard to know what to make of the German side. It looked like they downed tools in the Shakhtar hammering that got Domenico Tedesco the sack.
Marco Rose came in and they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 and had chances against Real Madrid before they got punished with a couple of moments of quality late on. But if Celtic can cause Real and Shakhtar real problems, there’s no reason they can’t do the same to the Bundesliga outfit.
There are lessons to be learned from the first two games. You simply cannot afford to pass up the kind of chances Celtic have fluffed against Real and Shakhtar. You look at Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda’s gilt-edged chances against the Spaniards – you don’t get better opportunities than those at this level.
It was the same the other night. Kyogo was through in the first minute, you would have expected Giorgos Giakoumakis to bury his late chance and Maeda had another one.
At domestic level there will always be another four or five opportunities coming along, but in the Champions League you might not get another sniff and there’s every chance your rival will punish you by taking theirs when they inevitably come along.
But these are the fine margins at the top level. Celtic have shown they can cut it and with a bit more cutting edge UEFA’s interpreters will be able to relax.
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