Ange Postecoglou has spent the previous 15 months constructing it up. Now, with a settled squad and the problem extra Actual-istic, it's time for extra detailed judgements in Europe. Postecoglou and his group had been, fairly accurately, positioned beneath no stress to ship when going into continental competitors final season.
There isn’t a supervisor on the planet who may have inherited the shambles he did that summer time and acquired such an unfurnished squad by way of the Champions League qualifiers. The failure on the first hurdle to Danish facet FC Midtjylland was no fault of the Aussie.
Postecoglou managed to steer his group past FK Jablonec and AZ Alkmaar to achieve entry to the group phases of the Europa League and there have been encouraging indicators all through the marketing campaign with a group that wasn’t correctly constructed or gelled. Celtic didn’t get by way of their part, however three wins from six group video games was not a nasty return. It provided indicators of progress and landed them a post-Christmas spot within the Convention.
It’s private alternative how the 5-1 combination defeat to Norwegians Bodo/Glimt at the beginning of this 12 months is seen. It's honest to recommend that the Scottish Premiership title race and the chance to achieve automated entry to those group phases within the Champions League was the principle motivation for Celtic on the time of that double header.
That was pretty evident when the teamsheets for the second leg in freezing Bodo had been handed out with a number of regulars unnoticed. However any doubters will, maybe with some justification, level to the truth that alternative solely got here following a disappointing 3-1 defeat for the first-pick line-up within the opening leg.
Home bliss made that exit irrelevant by Could with this assault on the premier competitors changing into the fixation. But even going into it, there was one thing of a sense of a free-hit for Postecoglou’s group on evening one. In fact, they didn’t assume that method. In fact they went in there believing that they may do one thing in opposition to Actual Madrid and it's to their nice credit score that they made such a contest of it for a spell in opposition to the champions of Europe.
Celtic’s efficiency for over half the sport seven days in the past in opposition to the Spanish superstars meant that, though the house tie was misplaced 3-0 in the long run, there was little apart from platitudes handed out afterwards to Postecoglou and his group. Once more, that’s honest sufficient. No membership has received this competitors greater than Actual. They've nailed it 5 of the final 9 years and they're specialists at doing what they did in Glasgow’s East Finish. Staying in video games whereas the opposition are having a proper go at them after which discovering a strategy to stylishly decide them off and win when all is alleged and executed.
Outdoors of Celtic Park, defeat to Actual was deemed nearly inevitable, however that’s not the case in Warsaw. Now, rightly or wrongly, there feels a sure diploma of expectation across the travelling group. Positive Celtic are nonetheless studying on the job and it's going to be some time earlier than this present group positive aspects the correct expertise of working within the elite competitors.
However this isn't Actual and it is a extra correct scenario on which to guage the progress of Postecoglou’s group. Shakhtar Donetsk are no-one’s mugs. They're taking part in for his or her nation, they've a wonderful group of younger gamers who've been provided extra alternative by way of FIFA guidelines which permitted lots of the membership’s international stars to go away under-siege Ukraine and discover new houses.
If anybody was in any doubt about their capacity to carry out, whereas Celtic had been scrapping it out in opposition to Actual, Shakhtar had been taking RB Leipzig aside on the similar time on their very own patch. The 4-1 scoreline was a end result which reverberated across the continent.
But Shakhtar are on the highway once more. The Russian invasion means they should play their so-called house matches in Poland. Basically, it’s a impartial venue. Postecoglou desires to make steps with Celtic. He desires them to compete at this stage regularly. The supporters ought to get a clearer view of the place, in European phrases, the group is positioned at this stage of their growth beneath Postecoglou.
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