WE all admire Ange Postecoglou’s relentless attacking ideals as the Celtic boss drives the team forward in a swashbuckling fashion.
That adventurous spirit and eye-catching flair will be on show again at Parkhead this evening when Shakhtar Donetsk provide the opposition for the Hoops’ final Glasgow performance in the Champions League in this campaign.
The last Group F encounter will be against reigning European kings Real Madrid in the Bernabeu a week tomorrow.
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster in the elite competition with some flashes of inspiration, but there is one major concern.
EURO TORMENT…Ange Postecoglou holds his head in his hands after a Celtic miss against RB Leipzig.
The Hoops have conceded a landslide THIRTY-SIX goals in 18 European games during the reign of Postecoglou.
The defence has averaged the loss of two goals per match since Greek flop Vasilis Barkas presented FC Midtjylland with an equaliser in the manager’s first competitive encounter at Parkhead on July 20 2021.
The game ended 1-1, the £4.5million keeper, now on loan with FC Utrecht, never played another European tie, Scott Bain replaced him for the return in Denmark a week later and was beaten twice as the visitors lost 2-1 after extra-time to exit the Champions League at the first qualifying hurdle.
Postecoglou has witnessed his team claim three shut-outs – all in the east end of Glasgow – and on the plus side they have netted 28 goals – while they failed to score on only four occasions, strangely three times at home.
The Champions League adventure got underway with a 3-0 home loss to the Spanish superstars on September 6 which was followed by a 1-1 draw with tonight’s opponents in Warsaw the following week.
Back-to-back meetings RB Leipzig saw the team lose 3-1 in Germany and 2-0 in Glasgow to end hopes of qualifying.
GROUNDED…Joe Hart is helpless as Christopher Nkunku puts RB Leipzig ahead in Germany.
Apart from one occasion, Joe Hart has been the man in charge of the gloves since his £1million arrival from Spurs on August 3 last year and went straight into the team two days later for the 4-2 victory over FK Jablonec in the first leg of the Europa League qualifier in the Czech Republic.
Bain played in the 3-2 win over Real Betis in December last year, but the 75 times-capped England international No.1 has been given the nod for the other 15 Euro excursions.
Famously, Postecoglou has said he does not pop the champagne corks for a clean sheet and it’s obviously in the club’s DNA to go forward.
However, may we respectfully make a plea for Celtic to shut up shop on this occasion? A clean sheet would be welcomed.
Here are the scorelines from the past two European campaigns.
SEASON 2022/23
Real Madrid (0-3)
Shakhtar Donetsk (1-1)
RB Leipzig (1-3, 0-2)
SEASON 2021/22
FC Midtjylland (1-1 and 1-2)
FK Jablonec (4-2 and 3-0)
AZ Alkmaar (2-0 and 1-2)
Real Betis (3-4 and 3-2)
Bayer Leverkusen (0-4 and 2-3)
Ferencváros (2-0 and 3-2)
Bodo/Glimt (1-3, 0-2)
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk this evening – only in your champion CQN.
