Scottish football pundit Michael Stewart was in full agreement with Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou’s main takeaway that his side made life difficult for themselves in their 2-1 Scottish Premiership win over Motherwell yesterday.
The former Hearts midfielder gave his verdict on the match that saw Celtic open the scoring through a Kyogo tap-in before being pegged back by a Josip Juranovic own-goal following some miscommunication with Joe Hart.
However, Celtic found a winner in the second half when Reo Hatate thundered home a winner from Jota’s quickly taken corner, with Stewart suggesting that Postecoglou’s side’s issues were of their own making.
Speaking on BBC Sportscene (from 30:00) Stewart said: “Ange Postecoglou hit the nail on the head with the regards to it being a little bit self-inflicted, they made the game more difficult than it could or perhaps should have been for Celtic.
“When you go to Celtic Park you need all these aspects to go your way, there were many aspects that did go Motherwell’s way but then there’s that corner which they’ve worked on which they let themselves be punished from.”
The former Hearts midfielder also gave his take on Celtic’s chances in Leipzig, as Postecoglou’s side look to put distance between themselves and their Champions League Group F rivals.
He said: “They could lose and still get through but when you look at the run of fixtures, if they’re able to even get a point away from home and then win their two home games that would do it for them but if they’re able to get something from it then they’re able to keep Leipzig out of the hunt, at the bottom of the table.”
Postecoglou will be keen for Celtic to iron out their individual errors ahead of Wednesday’s game, which will go a long way to deciding who progresses from Champions League Group F, likely alongside European Champions Real Madrid.
It’s a repeat of their 2018-19 Europa League group for Celtic who face double-header against RB Leipzig, starting with the away leg first, the Hoops lost 2-0 in Germany on that occasion, winning the reverse fixture 2-1 and eventually progressing to the knockout phases at the expense of their Bundesliga opponents.
As Stewart correctly stated, it’s not a must-win game for the Hoops and even a point would be a terrific result for Postecoglou and his players, going two Champions League away games unbeaten would be significant progress at this level.
In other news: Motherwell boss highlights Postecoglou training ground difference-maker from Celtic Park defeat
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