Celtic boss makes surprise admission about Real Madrid game

Most Celtic fans were quite happy with the performance that the players put in against Real Madrid last week. The Hoops went toe to toe with the European champions and outperformed them in the first half, and should have been a goal or two up. Carlo Ancelotti’s side would turn the game around and won 3-0 in the second half though through goals from Luka Modric, Eden Hazard and Vinicius Junior.

Even then, most people considered it as a positive performance from Celtic. Ange Postecoglou seems to have been left disappointed though.

It looks like the manager was not pleased that the Bhoys did not continue to play their football throughout the 90 minutes and their performance levels dropped in the second half, which Real Madrid took advantage of.

As reported by Sky Sports, Postecoglou admitted to being ‘frustrated and disappointed’ as he said:

"“I was a bit frustrated and disappointed because it’s not just about playing our football for a certain amount of time.“I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t have done that for longer.“In the context of who we were playing against, I understand that you are playing against one of the best teams in the world at the moment, maybe the best.“And for us to be able to match them by playing our football was encouraging, but I didn’t see any reason why that couldn’t continue beyond the time it did.“Looking back, the disappointing thing was, when we conceded, we conceded again quickly. There was no need to.”"

Postecoglou sends clear message to Celtic players

Postecoglou’s comments just go on to show how far Celtic have come under his management over the past year or so.

This was a side that was knocked out from the Champions League qualification phase last year by an FC Midtjylland side that was considered weak by their own standards.

A little over a year on, and a defeat against Real Madrid is a cause for disappointment. If that is not progress then what is.

To be honest, Celtic’s performance levels dropping in the second half is not new. It happened last season as well and we saw it rear its head against Real Madrid too. The Hoops are more often than not spectacular in the opening 45 minutes but seem to lose a bit of intensity and quality after the break.

A large part of that could be down to the style of football they play, which takes a lot out of the players. But if Celtic are to be successful against the top teams, they will need put together great 90-minute displays.