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Celtic might be sitting in a commanding position when it comes to the league, a massive seven points ahead of the Rangers, but their performance in the Champions League did leave a lot to be desired. The club could only manage a couple of draws in Europe’s elite competition, while losing the rest of the games.
It was not the performances that were to be blamed though, but the finishing instead. If they had put away the chances that they were presented with in front of goal, they could have beaten Shakhtar Donetsk and taken points off of Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
That is the area that Celtic were lacking in and Jota proved to be their top scorer in the Champions League this season, despite missing a chunk of it due to injury. Giorgos Giakoumakis managed to score only once, incidentally their only goal at Parkhead, and Kyogo drew a blank.
Frank McAvennie had a blunt assessment of the two strikers and suggested they could be axed from the XI if they continue to miss chances. As reported by Football Insider, the former Celtic star said:
"“Everyone likes Giakoumakis and Kyogo but it is a harsh world.“You cannot miss the kind of chances that we are missing and expect to stay in the team. I really do like them. They do well in Scotland and they have scored in the last couple of games and I thought they were back.“It could have been so much better this [Champions League] campaign. We did not get as many chances when we played.“The amount of chances they are getting now is wonderful to watch. As a striker I would be revelling in it, I would be scoring goals for fun. It is a harsh reality and I think the manager has to address that.“"
Could Celtic first-team duo lose their place in the starting XI?
It is safe to say that neither Giakoumakis nor Kyogo were good when it came to their finishing in Europe this season and left a lot to be desired.
But even then, it might be a bit too early to call for them to be dropped. Yes, it might be time though to consider bringing in another striker and provide them with some competition in the forward areas of the pitch. It might not have been the best idea to go into such an important season without a third option at striker and hope Celtic have learned a lesson there.
At the moment, Ange Postecoglou is alternating between Kyogo and Giakoumakis. When it comes to domestic competitions, they are doing a fantastic job.
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