Celtic Women resume Champions League duty tonight with an away tie to Real Madrid in their second fixture of the campaign.
Elena Sadiku will be looking for Celtic to bounce back from their defeat to FC Twente and get a positive result in their first-ever away fixture in UEFA’s flagship women’s tournament.
Not only that, Celtic Women will be keen to put their weekend SWPL defeat to Hearts on the backburner with a confidence-building performance against the current Spanish champions.
And to do that, manager Sadiku has challenged her players to be ‘confident and brave’ heading into the difficult away fixture.
Elena Sadiku tells Celtic to ‘fear no one’ ahead of Real Madrid clash
After losing the first game at home to FC Twente 2-0, Sadiku has a message to her players heading into the historic away tie.
Sadiku said, “I want the players to be really confident and brave. That is the thing I want to see.
“When it comes to how we are going to play, it’s still going to be about keeping our principles. When we defend domestically, obviously, we have our style of play and that is not going to change.
“We always play how the principles are. But like I have said after FC Twente, we defended really well and that is something we need to focus on.
“In possession, we need to be confident and brave, just like we are domestically. So that is something I am looking forward to seeing. We still want to defend really well, but just be better in possession and on the ball.
“For me, the most important message going into the game was the badge is huge. We all know what Real Madrid stands for.
“But for us, we need to go into the game and try to do our very best to get points and think about how we can win it. That needs to be in our hunger and game plan. Respect them, yes. But fear no one.
“I’ve said it before, and I think we are all looking forward to seeing brave and confident players taking the challenge on.”
Real Madrid manager Alberto Toril on facing Celtic
Madrid lost their opening fixture 3-2 to Chelsea and manager, Alberto Toril is no doubt just how important it is to bounce back with a win against Celtic.
Toril told Marca Aragon print edition page 16, “It’s a very important game after the first result away from home, the key is to get good results at home.
“We are fine in the feelings in the game and what we want to become.”
Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid at the weekend and sit just behind Barcelona in second place in the domestic league table.
Real Madrid vs Celtic global TV and live commentary details
This match will be Celtic’s first-ever Champions League away fixture and where else would you want to play such an historic fixture than against Los Blancos in Madrid?
The 5:45pm kick-off will be played at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid, Spain where Celtic are huge underdogs to pull off a result.
Celtic fans can stream the game for free on DAZN or subscribers to Celtic TV can listen to live commentary.
To view the game all you need to do is download the DAZN app and register your free account to stream the fixture on compatible devices.
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