Celtic made their return to the Champions League this week by welcoming Real Madrid to Parkhead. It was a big occasion to say the least and brought the eyes of entire Europe on the club once again. And it also saw some of the biggest names in the game heaping praise on the Scottish giants.
A number of legends have hyped the atmosphere at Celtic Park over the past few days and the fans did not disappoint on the night either. The only shame is that the Hoops could not score against Real Madrid or the place would have come unglued.
Celtic did put in a very good display and went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the first half, even outperforming them, and Ange Postecoglou’s side should have been up by two goals at least, by the time they conceded against the European champions. Carlo Ancelotti’s team took complete control after that and got a 3-0 victory.
The result might have been a disappointment but the performance was not. If anything, it proved that Celtic were good enough for this level and had a solid chance of making it out of the group.
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Carragher admitted how he wanted Celtic to stay in the Champions League as long as possible. As reported by Football Scotland, the Liverpool legend told CBS Sports:
"“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 remains to be seen if Celtic are able to make it past their group or not, which also consists of RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the other game in the group, surprisingly, Shakhtar Donetsk managed to get a big win, which also led to RB Leipzig making a change in managers.
If Celtic can perform like they did against Real Madrid in the first half, there is a good chance that they could potentially finish second in the group. Now, it remains to be seen how things play out.