Tuesday night’s penultimate fixture of the Champions League group stage could prove to be a huge opportunity for Ange Postecoglou and his squad.
The Bhoys are preparing to take on Shakhtar Donetsk at Celtic Park as they round off their final home fixture in the competition this season.
A win against the Ukrainian side would also mark Celtic’s first victory in Europe this campaign after suffering a frustrating first four games.
Although the Hoops are already eliminated from the Champions League knockout stages, there is a very slim chance of a place in the Europa League.
In order to achieve that, Ange Postecoglou’s side would need to secure victory over Shakhtar before heading to the Santiago Bernabeu at the beginning of November, needing to take home a result.
But, going into tomorrow night’s game, I don’t think those different possibilities will be on the mind of the Celtic manager or his squad.
Instead, Postecoglou will be looking at the bigger picture. Tuesday’s game marks an opportunity to showcase why we have proved our credentials as a UEFA Champions League side.
We might only be on one point after four games against our Group F opponents, but the performances in each of those games have merited more.
The last outing between Shakhtar and Celtic, in particular, was a frustrating one to take, with how many brilliant opportunities the Hoops’ forward line passed up during the 1-1 draw.
Time for Celtic to prove why they are a Champions League side with first victory under Ange.
Despite the disappointment of that game in Poland, we showed how we can compete and dominate spells against European opposition. And we did similar during our fixtures against Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
So, going into the final Champions League game of the season at Celtic Park tomorrow, the players will be hungry to put a performance on and right the wrongs of this group stage.
Of course, the damage has already been well done in the first four games. But it would be another sign of progression under the former Socceroos boss.
And given this is our first shot at the top table of European football, with a group of largely inexperienced players at Champions League level, it is certainly a huge positive.
Here’s hoping Ange and his squad can pick up a well-deserved victory tomorrow night in what will prove to be another difficult fixture in this competition.
However, our performances so far have shown we are more than capable. It is now about getting that first victory and building upon that experience and momentum going forward.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou makes thrilling second-half-of-the-season Celtic prediction.
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