Bitton calls for another special night
NIR BITTON has called upon Celtic fans to knock Borussia Monchengladbach’s stars out of their stride the same way they did Sergio Aguero and David Silva.
The Hoops entertain the Bundesliga outfit in the Champions League on Wednesday on the back of an electrifying 3-3 draw with Manchester City last time out.
While the bookmakers make the visitors clear favourites to claim three points, the Israeli believes they’re forgetting the part which will be played by the home crowd.
“The atmosphere lifts us, everyone saw that against City,” the midfielder said.
“They had world-class players and for the first 20 minutes they were in shock.
“If you see Sergio Aguero, David Silva – and I don’t need to speak about these guys – you could see they were in shock.
“There was panic in the defence and the players were just shooting the ball.
“Aguero has played for a long time in the Premier League, but with all due respect, they won’t have faced that kind of atmosphere in the Premier League.
“No stadium has that atmosphere.”
And, Bitton argues, the east end arena should be equally intimidating for Monchengladbach.
“You don’t normally see that kind of thing from Pep Guardiola’s teams,” he said.
“Celtic Park on European nights is something different, it gives you goosebumps.
“You need to make sure Gladbach are just as thrown. It’s about how we start the game and how we play.”
Wednesday night’s match is the first half of a double-header against the Germans which many believe will determine which of the two teams will clinch the Europa League consolation spot.
“These games are very important for us,” he said.
“I think everyone believes Manchester City and Barca will finish one and two.
“So if we want to be in Europe beyond the Champions League then we need to make sure we beat them.
“They will be really tough games for us because Monchengladbach are a very good side.
“First, we have a home game and we need to do everything we can to try and win the match.
“Sometimes you don’t play well and win, other times you play worse and lose.
“We need to try and play the same way as we did against City and I’m sure the atmosphere will be as good, if not even better.
“I haven’t seen much of Gladbach or German football this season, but I have a friend who plays in the Bundesliga and he has told me they are a good team – he has told me it will be very tough for Celtic.”