CELTIC had nothing to show for their efforts in the 2-0 loss to RB Leipzig as the Champions League dream was obliterated in a sequence of missed chances.
Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis all contrived to pass up good opportunities while Matt O’Riley and Greg Taylor struck the woodwork within five seconds of each other in the first-half.
Timo Werner showed them how it was done with a bullet header in the 75th minute after Josip Juranovic allowed Andre Silva too much time to send over a left-wing cross and substitute Emil Forsberg completed the misery six minutes from time.
Parkhead had been rocking at the kick-off, but there was barely a murmur as the game limped to a sad conclusion with the Hoops exiting Europe’s elite tournament with two games still to play.
OH, NO…Ange Postecoglou can’t hide his disappointment as another chance is missed.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I was disappointed for our fans and disappointed for the lads.
“The effort was there, the endeavour was there, but a bit like our campaign, it’s a tale of missed opportunities for us and it’s difficult.
“It’s the highest level of club football and you want to get to that point really quickly, but there is a process involved.
“At this level, goals change games. We hit the post twice in the same sequence and if one of those goes in, you’re 1-0 up and then it’s a different context in the game, it puts pressure on them and it gives us a lift.
“So, that’s the fine margins, unfortunately.
“I thought the players did everything I asked them and, like I said, the endeavour was there, the effort was certainly there and we just couldn’t get over the line. And at this level, you pay a cruel price for that.”
OH, NO…Kyogo Furuhashi knows he should have done better with a first-half header.
Shakhtar Donetsk, who gained a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in Warsaw last night, provide the opposition in the east end of Glasgow in a fortnight’s time in the Hoops’ remaining home encounter.
Postecoglou, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “The game against Shakhtar becomes really important for us and we’ve just got to maintain the belief.
“The worst thing you can do right now is let the disappointment of what’s happened tonight deter you from what you’re trying to achieve.
“We’ll continue down this road of being the football team we want to be and I believe that if we continue like that, we’ll get closer and we’ll get the result that we need.”
