CELTIC captain Cameron Carter-Vickers tonight insisted the Parkhead club can still qualify for the Europa League after a home defeat to RB Leipzig ended their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout rounds.
Carter-Vickers and his team mates performed well in their fourth Group F match in the East End of Glasgow – but they failed to convert any of the scoring opportunities which they created in the final third and paid the price for that failing.
Timo Werner broke the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining when he headed home an Andre Silva chip and substitute Emil Forsberg struck with six minutes of regulation time left to ensure the visitors triumphed 2-0.
Ange Postecoglou’s side can not finish second in their section and go through to the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition for the fourth time in their history as a result of the defeat.
But Celtic can still finish third in their group if they beat Shakhtar Donetsk, who held holders Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in Poland last night, later this month and then win or draw their final outing in Spain at the start of next month.
Carter Vickers, who donned the captain’s armband in the absence of the injured Callum McGregor, admitted that his team’s failure to net had cost them dear, but vowed to give his all in their final two outings.
“It was disappointing not to get a result,” he told BT Sport. “I thought for large parts of the game we played quite well. But it’s Champions League football and you need to take your chances.
“It’s disappointing. This is high level football, You need to capitalise when you are on top and if you don’t it can be difficult.
Asked if Celtic could make it through to the Europa League, Carter Vickers added: “I’m not too sure. We need to keep working hard on the path we are going and hopefully we’ll get there. We have two games left and we want two positive results. Hopefully we can get there.”h
