Celtic star Jota believes attacking football will win the day against Ferencvaros in the Europa League tonight.
The Bhoys sit third in Group G, with three points from as many games [UEFA]. Although Bayer Leverkusen comfortably handled Ange Postecoglou’s side, Betis were lucky to come up 4-3 winners. Hungarian champions Ferencvaros were beaten at Celtic Park.
The attacking style of Postecoglou has won many admirers, not least amongst the Celtic support. While it has drawbacks, as seen from the Betis scoreline, this is a more defensively solid Celtic side than the one that started their Europa League group in September.
Jota, a stand-out when the teams last met, it determined that going right at Ferencvaros is key. Speaking to Celtic’s in-house media, the Portuguese winger said [Celtic FC]:
“For sure, it’s a big game for us. We want to do the same as the last game and we are looking forward to playing a good game with attacking football.
“Every game is different. We don’t know what to expect, so definitely we are going to stick with our philosophy, and just hope that we can do the same as the other game.
“Every game is difficult because it’s the Europa League. We just need to be a strong team and fight for each other and the result will be good for us.”
A repeat performance from Jota against Ferencvaros would do Celtic Europa League hopes no harm at all
If Jota is even half as good as he was in the home game, we’ll probably be alright.
The Benfica loanee was absolutely sensational. He completed 90% of his passes, dribbled directly at the Hungarians constantly, and recovered the ball 4 times [Fotmob].
His biggest contribution, of course, came when he played an inch perfect long ball to Kyogo. The Japan striker dutifully controlled it and finished past Ferencvaros ‘keeper Denes Dibusz to make it 1-0.
Feeling the love from the fans, and the support of his family, there’s no doubt the winger with the big hair can do it again for Celtic in the Europa League. Even in a 4-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, he excelled. Constantly making life difficult for ex-Celt Jeremie Frimpong, Jota shouldn’t have been on the losing side.
One of the smarter bits of business at Celtic in recent years, there are constant calls for Jota to be signed permanently.
Another big performance for Celtic against Ferencvaros in the Europa League would surely only strengthen his case.
Read more: Japan Times reporter’s brilliant guide to Celtic and J League rumours
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