Cluj manager Dan Petrescu made some interesting comments about Celtic following the Hoops’ 2-0 win over the Romanian side.
He claimed that the Hoops and Lazio were favourites to get out of the Europa League group stages and reach the last 32 of the competition – this is despite Cluj defeating Lazio 2-1 in their first group match.
“Celtic have better players all over the pitch, but we cannot win two times at Celtic” Petrescu said, as reported by the Daily Record.
“The big favourites”
“For me Celtic and Lazio are the big favourites in this group. Normally they should go through but in football there are some surprises.”
However, Neil Lennon isn’t taking the comments too seriously. “Well he would say that, wouldn’t he? I’ve learned to take what Dan says with a pinch of salt” he told the Daily Record.
That brings us to the question – was Petrescu subtly performing ‘mind games’ – like so many managers have done before – ahead of the Celtic-Lazio double header?
The answer could well be ‘yes’. Cluj will privately think they have a great chance of making the last 32 of the competition. They are currently only one point behind Celtic and level on points with Lazio in the group table.
Hoops boss will take no notice of comments
They will be hoping to take advantadge of Celtic and Lazio taking points off each other in the next two fixtures. Therefore, Lennon is correct to pay no real attention to what Petrescu makes of the current situation in the group.
The Hoops will just have to get on with trying to get as many points as they can in the four games left in the group stages. All four teams can still qualify, even Rennes who sit at the bottom of the group with only one point so far.
The situation could become clearer after the Celtic-Lazio Rennes-Cluj double headers in the next two rounds of games.
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