Shakhtar captain admits to worry about facing Celtic

As Shakhtar Donetsk get ready to face Celtic in Warsaw next week, their skipper Taras Stepanenko seems to be worried about one aspect of the game. It must be pointed out that there is uncertainty over the fixture given the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

Shakhtar certainly surprised everyone in the opening game of the Champions League group stage campaign, and possibly themselves as well, with a stunning 1-4 win away to RB Leipzig. Two of those goals came from Marian Shved, making his debut after a summer move to the club.

Shved struggled to make an impression in an earlier spell at Celtic and we’ll all be hoping next week isn’t the time for him to make his mark. Shakhtar‘s amazing performance and result even led to the sacking of RB Leipzig boss, Domenico Tedesco, who has now been replaced by Marco Rose.

But Stepanenko, while hopeful his side can replicate that performance, knows well that it’s by no means guaranteed. As reported by the Daily Record, the Shakhtar captain made a very honest admission:

"“We have a team who are young and everyone knows what young players are like – they can be great one week and not so good the next, so we don’t know if we can be as good against Celtic as were against Leipzig.”"

Shakhtar Donetsk captain makes honest admission about game against Celtic

We all saw how good Celtic can be in their last couple of matches, against Rangers in a great 4-0 win and again in the first half against Real Madrid. Although the Hoops are playing away from home against Shakhtar, we can expect to see their usual fast moving and pressing game in Warsaw next week.

If the Hoops can be more clinical in their finishing than they were against Real Madrid, then Shakhtar may well have a difficult task on their hands.

That is the vital part for Celtic at this point of time. To make most of the opportunities that they create in the first half, because often, we see Ange Postecoglou’s side fade away a bit after the break.