Celtic bowed out of the Champions League for the season, following a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid. It was a frustrating night of football for the Hoops, as two early penalties ended the game even before it really started. To be fair, Ange Postecoglou’s side had the chance to bring it back when they were awarded a spot kick of their own, but Josip Juranovic spurned his big chance at the Santiago Bernabeu with a tame effort.
Celtic end their Champions League campaign having suffered four defeats and two draws. That is not great by any stretch of the imagination but the performances did give some encouragement and hope for the future.
There are several areas to work on, but then, the Hoops also showed that they can hang with the best of the best in certain areas as well.
Of course, the Celtic Park atmosphere was the talk of Europe throughout the Champions League campaign. It has been one of the most celebrated stadiums in football for years now. And Thierry Henry has even declared it as the loudest that he has been to, alongside Anfield.
Henry makes sensational Celtic Park claim
As reported by HITC, when speaking about the loudest stadiums, Henry told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (01/11/22 at 7:20 pm):
"“I have said it so many times, passing my beloved stadium Highbury and stuff. But the loudest was Anfield and Celtic Park.”"
Of course, Henry is not the first all-time great of the game to praise the atmosphere at Celtic Park. It has already received the thumbs up from players like Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Kaka and several others.
The Hoops could not make the most of their games at Celtic Park this season though, only managing a draw against Shakhtar. They need to turn it into a fortress, if they are to have any hope of getting into the last 16 of the Champions League ahead of financially stronger teams.