Celtic fans were left wondering ‘what could’ve been’ once again, as the Hoops wasted one chance after the other. Their finishing has been terrible in all four Champions League group stage games this season and unsurprisingly, they have been punished. Despite putting in positive performances, Ange Postecoglou’s side have picked up a solitary point till now, from a 1-1 draw vs Shakhtar Donetsk in which the Hoops should have scored four or five.
Coming into the campaign, Celtic knew that they needed to turn Parkhead into a fortress if they were to have any chance of getting into the knockout stages, but that has not been the case. In fact, they have not even scored at home till now, with both their goals coming away.
A 3-0 defeat against Real Madrid and a 2-0 loss vs RB Leipzig is what the Parkhead crowd has witnessed till now.
The atmosphere in the stadium has earned a lot of plaudits though, with one RB Leipzig star even putting it above the Santiago Bernabeu. As reported by the Daily Record, Xaver Schlager said:
"“The atmosphere was outstanding, in the other away game in the group in Madrid, it was rather quiet.”"
RB Leipzig calls Celtic Park atmosphere better than that of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu
It is safe to say that Celtic fans are proud of the atmosphere that they create at Parkhead on European nights. It is truly a sight to behold and widely considered by footballers as one of the best places to play in the world.
At the same time though, one debate that has cropped up time after time is whether Celtic Park has become a bit too enjoyable to play at and less intimidating.
At the end of the day, Celtic need to be using the incredible atmosphere and support to win games at home in Europe, something that they have barely done in the Champions League, the times that they have made the main stage of the competition in recent years.