Celtic star Joe Hart has taken to Instagram to say that his Bhoys side “could and should” have been victors against Bayer Leverkusen.
In a dramatic, heartbreaking 90 minutes, Celtic looked excellent value to take a famous win from the Bundesliga side. However, a 2-1 lead became a 3-2 loss, with basic errors being pounced upon.
Frankly, it was brutal. Hart, who made a series of outstanding saves, absolutely didn’t deserve to be on the losing team.
In particular, a double-save that culminated in denying Adli an open goal from a rebound, was world-class.
It’ll be Europa Conference League football for Celtic after Christmas, then. And Joe Hart thanked the support last night, knowing they’d be there to cheer the Bhoys on regardless of the competition.
He said:
“Tough… could and should have been so much more. Amazing support tonight out here… it’s appreciated.”
In total, Hart made 4 saves within his own box [Fotmob], forced to react to some top strikes from Leverkusen’s attacking talent.
It could’ve been more; in the first-half, Diaby and Wirtz each hit the woodwork within seconds of each other. But the former England goalkeeper certainly didn’t disgrace himself on the continent.
He even sparked Celtic’s second, with a pin-point delivery to James Forrest, who advanced the ball into a dangerous area.
Joe Hart is right; Celtic should have got more from a heart-breaker in Germany
We could all be feeling so different this morning. Celtic really did look as if they had it in the bag.
Ange Postecoglou had talked about the importance of composure and not being rattled by mistakes. To a large extent, that worked, with Celtic showing a great attitude to come back from 1-0 down.
But after Andrich got Bayer’s second, there was a feeling of dread, of inevitability. The substitutes that came on in the latter stages just didn’t have the quality to keep a team like Leverkusen quiet.
A massive disappointment. Granted, if you’d asked a lot of Celtic fans if they’d have taken a big performance in a spirited loss against a top quality side, they might’ve taken it.
That was hypothetical. In reality, it’s a tough one to take.
Hart, though, has bounced back from disappointments before. He may be feeling acutely frustrated by last night’s result. But it’s up to him, as one of the more experienced players, to be motivated by it.
Read more: Bayer Leverkusen star sends classy Instagram message to Celtic after Europa League clash
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