In the end it was another Champions League disappointment for Celtic. Till now, the club have managed just a couple of draws against Shakhtar Donetsk, losing the other three games. Their last chance of winning a game in the competition this season will come against the defending champions, Real Madrid, away at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Celtic’s hopes of staying in Europe are over for the season, with them guaranteed to bottom their group, but their Champions League campaign had a lot of positives as well.
The performances did impress, with Celtic playing their brand of football even against the best of teams and creating numerous chances. What let them down is their finishing. There are certain areas though, in which Ange Postecoglou’s side were better than even the most historical teams in Europe.
According to UEFA’s official website, Celtic have a passing accuracy of 87.6% in the Champions League this season. That places them at 7th and is better than clubs like Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter, Ajax and many others, including high-flying Napoli.
Celtic better than Liverpool, Inter, Ajax and AC Milan in Europe in key area
There’s plenty of debate around the team’s performances over the group games so far in this season’s Champions League. Fans, critics and pundits all have their views. The most common being the need to be clinical in front of goal and take more of the many chances created.
That’s a fact borne out by only 3 goals scored in the 5 games so far. Nobody can question the fact that Postecoglou’s side have played their football though, which is proven by their passing stats for the season.
While the need to convert more chances into goals will be obvious to all, those figures really underline that point.
Postecoglou has been clear on wanting his team to play in Europe in the same pressing and attacking style as usual. The statistics can help provide some encouragement as he and his coaches work to improve the squad further.