Jota has declared himself ready to start in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night after making his return to the team on Sunday afternoon.
The Celtic winger was given the final ten minutes of the game at Livingston and managed to get on the scoresheet to make it 3-0 on the day.
Ange Postecoglou knows he needs to manage Jota’s fitness as he comes back from injury, but it’s clear the Portuguese star wants a start in Madrid.
Asked if he is fit enough to start in Spain, Jota told SunSport: “It’s not a question for me, it’s one for the gaffer.
“But if he’s ready to put me in, I’m ready to fight for him and the club.
“I think the quality has been there in every game we’ve played in Europe, and people who understand football can see that.
“The guys are playing well, there are just some details we’re not getting.
“In the Champions League, you pay a very high price if you’re not on it in every game.
“I think there’s always a determination in these games, but our aim for the rest of the season is to play every Premiership game as if it’s a Champions League game.
“We need to remind ourselves that we want to be better every day.
“And in order to do that we just need to think as though it could be our last game.
“That’s the mentality we have to have.
“Every game is a good stage. You’re always under evaluation from your coach, from other teams, from your previous teams, from Celtic, everyone.
“You just need to be as consistent as possible.
“It was a very important moment for me to come back from injury and score, but most of all it was about the victory for the team.
“This was a game we knew was going to be very difficult. It’s like that every time we come here, so I was very happy to get the win.
“In football, you have to be ready for situations when you have an injury.
“Although we can be professional, some injuries come up because we can’t control everything.
“So when there are these setbacks we just need to fight back to get better every day and aim for the future.”
Jota missed the last two Champions league games where Celtic have came up short. While there’s nothing to play for against Madrid, every single player will want to give the best account of themselves and try to cause an upset.
It’s not every day you get to play against some of the best footballers in the world in such a legendary stadium. The bhoys gave Real a few scares during the game at Celtic Park. The bhoys missing key chances came back to bite them when the Spaniard’s talents shone through in the second half.
Jota being back just before the World Cup break is a brilliant boost for the bhoys. We have four games left before attention switches to international football. The club currently sit four points clear at the top of the table and will want to maintain or grow that lead before the shutdown.
