When Celtic were placed into Group E of this season’s UEFA Champions League there was a general sense that we had done quite well for ourselves.
We’d managed to avoid any real European heavyweights — any sides likely to give us an absolute spanking. After drubbings to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in recent years, that was good news.
Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid and Lazio were all capable sides. But they weren’t truly among Europe’s very elite sides.
While Lazio are struggling for form at present, the same can not be said for Feyenoord and Atletico after their most recent outings. Both of our group opponents were playing against their historical rivals on Sunday. They fared very well.
Fresh from their 2-0 victory over us last Tuesday, Feyenoord were back in action and facing Ajax at the iconic Johan Cruyff Arena.
There’s a fair chance you’ve heard about how that went down. The Rotterdam outfit were 3-0 up on their rivals when the Ajax support took matters into their own hands. Far from happy with the start their side has made to the season, they threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch. (BBC)
De Klassieker was called off near the start of the first half. The final 35 minutes of the fixture will be played behind closed doors on Wednesday.
In slightly calmer surroundings, Atletico Madrid saw off the might of Real Madrid to record a hugely impressive derby victory.
A double from Alvaro Morata and one from Antoine Griezmann completed a 3-1 win for Diego Simeone’s side. Notably, all three goals were headers. That’s something we’ll have to guard against when we face them soon.
The Madrid outfit are now up to fifth in La Liga and have a game in hand to rise further. It seems like they are starting to pick up momentum.
While both scorelines were in one-off matches, they do highlight the immense task that is ahead of Celtic in this Champions League section. This is proper quality we’re facing.
We don’t have much option other than to go for it and see how our best stacks up against this level of opposition.
In other news, the latest on Matt O’Riley’s future after stellar Celtic form
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