Matt O’Riley has called on Celtic to start taking the opportunities they’re creating against Champions League opponents, insisting the narrative of the group so far needs to change next week.
RB Leipzig visit on Tuesday with the match a must-win affair if the Bhoys are to have hope of qualifying for the last 16 of the tournament.
The performance in Germany wasn’t without its positives, especially in the first half but ultimately it felt like a frustratingly familiar story at this level for this club.
O’Riley wants things to change quickly, telling The Scottish Daily Mail [07/10 print edition, page 79]: “We’ve realised now that if we don’t take those chances, we’re going to get punished at this level. It was similar against Real Madrid and Shakhtar. We had chances in certain periods of the game.
“It was the same against Leipzig — and, to be honest, that was the difference. It’s just the reality. We did have chances, so it’s not like we’re not creating them. That’s a positive. But now we’ve got two home games in a row, so hopefully we’ll create more chances and take them.
“It needs to change. We know what we need to do to win the games. That’s the main thing — and now we just need to do it. Naturally, we don’t want to let in three goals. That’s probably too many. But at the same time, we created enough chances to score at least three ourselves. So, if we can basically take our chances the next time — we will create them — then hopefully it will be a better outcome.”
O’Riley is one of a number of players who haven’t been at their best in recent weeks. He at least isn’t hiding from the criticism and, in fact, is giving a pretty fair summary of where things stand.
His comments above aren’t that out of line with the majority of fan opinion since Wednesday night’s match. Self-awareness will be a critical part of any improvement, so I’m happy to hear what he’s saying.
The Danish U21 international and his teammates will be looking for a confident performance to get back on track against St Johnstone before the simply massive return match against Leipzig.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou just gave one of his best media answers of the season.
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