Celtic’s Champions League campaign performance came to the fore earlier this week following the Bhoys’ goalless draw in Zagreb.
Post-match, Brendan Rodgers described the affair in Croatia as a ‘missed opportunity’ after his side failed to break the deadlock against a depleted home side.
However, Celtic have seen Champions League matches slip away from them in years gone by due to a lack of effective pragmatism. There is probably a balance to be found now the dust has settled on Tuesday night’s action.
With the Bhoys’ Zagreb stalemate now history, they lie on nine points from their opening six matches and know one more victory against Young Boys or Aston Villa would be enough to qualify for the knockout playoff phase.
Delivering his verdict on the campaign, Chris Sutton has offered his judgement of the bigger picture for Celtic.
Chris Sutton’s verdict on Celtic display in Champions League
Writing in his column for the Daily Record, Sutton believes Celtic’s clean sheet record and ability to claim results at the level is a major improvement regardless of Tuesday’s frustration, especially considering they were being told not so long ago after a heavy defeat at Dortmund that competing wouldn’t be possible.
He stated: “I’ve got to be honest, I was pretty surprised to hear some unhappiness around the outcome and the 0-0 draw. Let’s get it right, if I was still playing and had been sat on the team flight home, I’d have been a bit frustrated because I would have thought it was a chance missed against a depleted home team and, listening to some of the players, that’s how they felt, too.
“However, it’s not that long ago Borussia Dortmund were taking seven off Celtic and people were saying they simply couldn’t defend at the level. Their clean sheet record prior to this season in the competition was abysmal. Now, they get two clean sheets on the road back-to-back to earn two valuable points in the hunt for the play-off and some are whining.
“I don’t know if people have forgotten where Celtic have come from, but I certainly didn’t expect them to have nine points after six games. It’s an excellent return so far and I fancy them to beat Young Boys in the next match, move onto 12 and be qualified by the time they go to Villa Park. That’d be a brilliant achievement, real progress.”
Celtic have made European progress in a short space of time
There is a lot to unpack when examining the Bhoys’ Champions League campaign, but the main takeaway is that distinctive progress has been made at Europe’s top table in a short space of time.
Celtic finished bottom of their group last season despite some encouraging moments against Feyenoord, Lazio and Atletico Madrid. Ultimately, the quality of personnel available at their disposal just wasn’t good enough to see results over the line.
In the summer, Rodgers enacted a transfer spend exceeding £30 million on eight new arrivals, which has helped to bridge the gap with some of the Bhoys’ positional competitors.
Now, Celtic stand one win off qualification. Tuesday may have been slightly frustrating not to see the job over the line, though there will be another chance against Young Boys come January.
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