Celtic progressed to the knock-out phase of the Champions League after beating Young Boys.
It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for Celtic when Kyogo Furuhashi had a hattrick of goals all chalked off for offside.
With a win required to guarantee progression to the next phase of the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers’ side went all out to secure the three points in the first 45 minutes but, unfortunately, just couldn’t find the breakthrough.
However, Celtic prevailed and beat Young Boys with a fortunate own-goal in the 86th minute which meant progression in Europe’s elite competition was guaranteed.
And the result delighted Celtic hero, Kasper Schmeichel.
Kasper Schmeichel hails ‘incredible’ Celtic Park win vs Young Boys in Champions League
Speaking post-match, Schmeichel who had just signed a new Celtic deal hours before kick-off,
Schmeichel told Celtic TV, “Incredible evening. These nights are special. We talk about a lot in the dressing room about taking this kind of opportunities because they are so rare.
“But yeah, full credit to the boys. I think we particularly in the first half, were excellent, quite a bit of adversity within the game, but we showed maturity, we showed some good experience in terms of how to play at this level.
“Kept them from too many chances and created a lot. Okay, we needed a little bit of luck in the end with the goal, but in terms of the build-up, and playing, this is exactly what we’re trying to do.
“So a mature performance. Very, very, very good performance and incredible night to be a part of.”
Kasper Schmeichel shares how Celtic fans spooked the Young Boys bench in Champions League
“I think the challenge playing for a club like Celtic is,” continued Schmeichel, “That you’re looking for perfection all the time and you’re never going to achieve perfection, but you got to get as close to it as possible.
“And I think, you know the fans, they play their part in terms of creating an atmosphere. You stand there and you’re listening to it, I was looking over at their bench, their players, when the anthem was going and you know that you could see that that’s just not normal.
“So that’s up to the players to live up to that. And credit to them, particularly the young guys coming in, stepping up, having the confidence to take the game by the scruff of the neck, taking penalties, all these things that are needed.
“You need guys to step up and everyone does that every single day. Everyone rises to that challenge. They relish that challenge. So yeah, it’s a joy to be part of.”
Well, the Celtic fans will get the chance to do it all again after Brendan Rodgers’ side secured a place in the play-off places last night.
The Celtic manager will be looking forward to welcoming another one of Europe’s elite teams to Parkhead and the Celtic fans will play a huge part in helping the side overcome another huge Champions League hurdle this season.
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