A week tomorrow, Celtic’s Champions League campaign will get underway as the Hoops return to the big stage for the first time since 2017.
Of course, we now know who Ange Postecoglou’s side will be taking on in those six games after being drawn against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donestk.
It may not be the ‘group of death’ for this year’s tournament, but across the next three months, there is no doubting it is bound to throw up plenty of twists and turns along the way.
With the regular Champions League fixture list usually being more spread out, looking into your opponent’s domestic results may not have been as big a deal in previous years.
However, with the 2022/23 group stage games being more condensed due to the World Cup taking place later this year, momentum on the domestic and European front could be crucial.
So how did our Group F opponents fair in the league this weekend?
Real Madrid
It is certainly fair to say that Real Madrid might not just be favourites for this Champions League group but also the competition as a whole.
Los Blancos achieved great success last campaign, lifting the league title in Spain and the Champions League for an incredible 14th time. They also continued that trophy success into this season, defeating Frankfurt to win the Super Cup.
To kick off the 2022/23 league campaign, Carl Ancelotti’s side has now won three out of their first three matches, sitting top of La Liga, thanks to a 3-1 win over Espanyol on Sunday evening.
However, that victory didn’t come easy for Real Madrid. After opening the scoring 12 minutes into the game, Espanyol struck back to level it up at 1-1.
It took until the 88th minute to score a decisive goal in the game, and who else other than Karim Benzema to secure all three points for Real.
The Frenchman also rounded off the scoring from a free-kick ten minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game due to a lengthy VAR review, which saw the home side reduced to 10 men.
Real Madrid may have got off to the perfect start, but they have also conceded in each of their three league outings, which may be something for Ange Postecoglou’s attacking Celtic side to ponder, ahead of their visit to Glasgow next week.
RB Leipzig
It may have been a successful, 100% start to the season for Real Madrid. However, it has been almost the exact opposite for our opponents from Pot 2 in this group, RB Leipzig.
The German side has started the season in a disappointing fashion, drawing two and losing one of their first three league games.
But, this weekend marked the change of fortunes for Domenico Tedesco’s side after they defeated Wolfsburg 2-0, thanks to an earlier opener from the spot by Christopher Nkunku, who also scored Leipzig’s second in the 90th minute.
Having gotten off the mark by picking up their first three points in the league, RB Leipzig will be looking to build upon that with a cup fixture midweek before a test against fellow Champions League side Frankfurt next Saturday.
The doubleheader between Celtic and the Bundesliga side could be crucial in this group, so they will be hoping for success in games against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Monchengladbach ahead of the Hoops’ visit on matchday three.
Shakhtar Donetsk
Similarly to RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk were also able to pick up their first three points in the league this past weekend, in their second fixture of the season.
Having drawn 0-0 against Metalist 1925 on opening day to mark the return of domestic football action in Ukraine, Shakhtar took on newly promoted side from the 2021 season, Kryvbas.
After the visiting side went down to 10 men with around 16 minutes of regular time left in the game, Shakhtar were able to take advantage.
22-year-old midfielder Artem Bondarenko scored the only goal of the game to put his side up to 5th place in the league.
However, Shakhtar also suffered some disappointing injury news, after it was confirmed that defender, Viktor Korniienko, who was subbed off will now miss six months of action, injuring his anterior cruciate ligament [Shakhtar Donetsk FC].
The Ukrainian champions will be hoping to build up their momentum in the league, taking on Rukh Lviv before the Champions League opening fixtures next midweek.
Celtic full of confidence as European opponents get up to speed.
Like all four clubs within this group, each team is now slowly getting up to speed and look likely to be ready for a competitive group in the Champions League.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will certainly be full of confidence, off the back of an impressive 9-0 victory over Dundee United on Sunday.
However, the tests of Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk are going to be a whole different level, but still, one that the Bhoys should be excited to take on.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou opens up on the fascinating reasoning behind bringing Harry Kewell to Celtic.
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