European football ruthlessly exposes fallacies

The problem with European football, is that you never know how well your domestic performances measure against what you might face in Europe.  At least for us, Scotland’s Uefa coefficient provides a clue to the likely comparable standards in places like Romania or Sweden.  Not so for poor Tottenham.

At home, last season’s beaten finalists were entitled to think they could play their natural game against Bayern Munich without inviting a skelping.  That notion was ruthlessly exposed as a fallacy.  There are no hiding places, when the genuine elite clubs are on form, that do not involve stringing eight players across your 18-yard line.

I suspect you and I both underestimated the Romanian champions in August.  Celtic held them out there and had control of the tie, but Cluj are not St Johnstone.  Lazio subsequently discovered to their cost that Romanian football is stubbornly effective.

Celtic are playing well right now but tomorrow will be tough.  If there is a winner, they will fancy their chances of winning the group.