JAMIE CARRAGHER is hoping that Celtic stay in the Champions League ‘as long as possible’.
The former Liverpool defender was covering the match against Real Madrid for American TV Channel CBS Sports, where he revealed he wished he was at the ground.
Speaking live, quoted by Football Scotland, the pundit gave a fair assessment of the game and revealed he’s hoping that Celtic get deep into the competition.
“Certainly in the first half, I think they would say that it was a 50-50 game, that’s what it felt like.
“If there is one place I could have been tonight, in terms of being at a stadium, it would have been there Celtic Park.
“That’s the place, in terms of atmosphere. I have played there, the atmosphere is outstanding. So, you want them to stay in the Champions League as long as possible.
“But for Celtic, it’s about could they get through the group and have more amazing nights? They aren’t going to trouble anyone, in terms of going to the latter stages or winning the competition.
“It’s a special place, team and atmosphere, that you want to see stay in the Champions League as long as you possibly can, not just for their own sake, but for everybody. Nobody can say that they don’t enjoy going into that stadium. or watching them when it’s in full voice.”
It’s a night of ‘what ifs’ for Celtic. What if McGregor’s thundering strike went in, or Abada did better with his one-on-one, or Maeda scored early in the second half?
Celtic had their chances last night, and had they scored first, the game would’ve changed with Real being forced to open up to chase an equaliser which good have left some space for Celtic to exploit. Still, we can’t be too disappointed.
The team put up a great fight and went toe-to-toe with the finest Europe has to offer.
I don’t buy into this ‘we can’t be too disappointed’ line, I’m still annoyed with our performance! Everything from picking the wrong pass in positions where we could’ve penetrated Real’s defence or got in behind them, missing real chances to trouble their keeper and score, giving the ball away cheaply and poor first touch control, to the ever present (for years now in Europe) being caught defending on/near the halfway line, suckered and countered, all things that are easily avoidable regardless of how skilled the opposition are!
That first half was phenomenal, bar the aforementioned, but the team lost the plot in the second half, let their concentration and effort dip, and paid the price!
They should be kicking themselves for letting the opportunity slip past them, as should Ange, and i can only hope they’ve analysed their performance and addressed the problem areas as the next games not going to be any easier if they approach it with the same carelessness and fall into the same traps!
They showed they are capable, now they need to prove they can man up for the whole 90 minutes and get results!