It was not the night Celtic were hoping for as they saw their European adventure draw to a premature end. A win was what was needed if Ange Postecoglou 's side wanted to play more football on the continent this term, but with the points being shared with Shakhtar Donetsk it simply wasn't to be. A lack of clinical finishing seemed to be the biggest battle for the Parkhead side throughout this season's Champions League competition as they scored three goals from a staggering 68 attempts.
It was as another night of missed chances that saw Celtic miss out on the chance of third place in Group F - a spot that would have secured them Europa League football post-Christmas - with Matt O'Riley amongst the unlucky ones who couldn't quite find the net when it mattered most. But the midfielder reckons it could be the pressure of European football's top table that saw him anxious in front of goal, insisting he'd have slotted home if the chance came in the Scottish Premiership.
He told BT Sport: "We’ll try to be back next year with a bit more ruthless in front of goal. I had a chance towards the end that I put past the post. To be honest if that was in the Scottish league I reckon we’d score them. Maybe there’s a bit more anxiety.
“There’s a lot to learn but we’ll go back to the training ground to make sure we are more ruthless because our finishing, our passing, everything has to be sharper when you transition to this level. You saw it in the Real Madrid game, they get one chance and they punish you. We had more chances than Shakhtar again. They obviously had one massive one they missed, but we had plenty to punish them.
"It was a disappointing Champions League campaign, especially given some of the football we’ve played. I’m gutted for our fans, they turn up every single time and make crazy amounts of noise. Next year we will have learned a lot from this and be in a better place for sure.”
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