Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has revealed his reasoning behind leaving Jota out of the starting line-up this evening, which will face Real Madrid.
The 57-year-old has plenty of attacking options in wide areas, with the likes of James Forrest and Sead Haksabanovic coming into the side and on form.
Jota has been absent from the Hoops matchday squad in recent weeks but made his return to action off the bench against Livingston on Sunday.
After making his return last weekend and scoring, many expected to see the Portuguese attacker take his place back in the starting lineup at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Postecoglou chose to go with Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda from the start in the Spanish capital as his side prepare for an extremely difficult test this evening.
Speaking to BT Sport before kick-off, the former Socceroos boss explained his reasoning behind leaving the recently returned Jota out of the starting XI.
Although the winger has returned to full fitness, Postecoglou is wary of his recent injury woes and was mindful of the future. But the Celtic manager also stated that we should expect to see Jota on at some point.
He said [BT Sport]: “Look, we’ve got to be mindful. He’s missed a fair bit of football, and I thought getting him some game time on the weekend was important.
“He’ll get on tonight, we’ll give him some game time again. But I think to start the game tonight, we’ve got to be sure he’ll be healthy for us moving forward.”
Ange Postecoglou cautious with Jota injury knock, but winger will have his chance vs Real Madrid.
Following on from his recent absence due to injury, I think the majority of Celtic supporters will agree with Ange Postecoglou’s cautious reasoning behind Jota’s absence from the starting lineup.
The winger is such a valuable player for this side and will be crucial for the Bhoys’ final three Scottish Premiership outings against Dundee United, Motherwell and Ross County before the World Cup.
Of course, I am sure the Portuguese under-21 international would have loved the opportunity to perform at an iconic footballing venue.
And thankfully, that will come tonight, just at a later stage in the game, as he continues to build up his match sharpness.
Here’s hoping when we see Jota introduced into the game, there is still something to play for, and he can help Celtic at some stage in the second half!
In other news, Celtic team vs Real Madrid confirmed: 4 changes, injury return, global TV details, instant reaction.
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