Christopher Jullien has made the painful admission he had to go get dental work done after last week’s game in Copenhagen.
The defender clashed with Copenhagen striker N’Doye in the early going. It appeared to be a clash of heads at first but Jullien’s mouth got the brunt of it. The player was in pain and bleeding but he wasn’t about to drop out of the team with so much of the game still to play.
“I remember the incident. And so does my dentist. It was a bad one but when I take the field I always want to give it everything I’ve got and I had no intention of leaving my partner or the rest of my team-mates.” Jullien revealed to Record Sport.
“We were only 10-15 minutes into the game at that stage and I had plenty of energy. I was excited about the tie and, in my head, it was impossible for me to leave the pitch.
“I lost some parts of my teeth but it’s OK. My dentist is good and it’s important that teams know we won’t be bullied.
“Every game’s tough but we always get up and we do that after every bad moment we have.
“If a team tries to rough us up then we’ll just keep trying to do our best, again and again.
“When there is a bit of trash talk and little things off the ball, even contact and stuff like that, to win then is more enjoyable. That’s normal, it is what it is. Every sport is the same.
“Kristoffer Ajer was talking to me about some hit he had taken but sometimes you can’t be pretty if you’re going to win.”
What’s more impressive, on the night, Jullien was one of our star performers. The defender was a giant in defence. The Frenchman came up big with some tackles and clearances which helped eventually keep the game at 1-1.
The defender is now patched up and ready to go for the second leg. The excitement Jullien has for playing at this level in front of the Celtic support is great to see.
He knows first hand how mental Celtic Park can get after being the one to score the winner against Lazio in the group stage.
We’ll need the big man at his best this evening if we’re to progress.
That big guy was putting it about last week. First, it was Forster, then he had Jullien, then 10 minutes later he had Jullien again with the head challenge. Sometimes I watch FOOTball, but I see players grabbing each other and other mauling each other. It’s more like rugby. Watched the other half of Glasgow last night, Arfield is a case in hand, canny tackle cleanly, but he is up for a mauling every time. Nagi, what a moaner, he is always in the referees face girning and whittling. The £7m man couldn’t hit the open net. Gerrard must be a happy man.
Braga were terrible. Their first touch was awful, and there was no direct attack always down the wings.