SHAK WHERE WE BELONG
Callum: That proves we’ve arrived in the Champions League
CALLUM McGREGOR rekcons Celtic’s powerful Polish show proves they have arrived in the Champions League and offers more belief they can truly compete at the highest level.
The Parkhead skipper was proud of his team’s display after the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw.
Celtic’s point got them off the mark in Group F but McGregor knows it could easily have been more if they’d taken their chances.
Ange Postecoglou’s team dominated the Ukrainians for lengthy spells and came close to winning it in the closing stages.
The Scottish champions looked right at home in the elite level of European competition as they controlled the match.
For many of the squad it was just a second taste of the group stage experience but it didn’t show as they bossed things.
McGregor believes the performance is a huge shot in the arm for the team as they look to take the next steps in their development.
With a double-header against RB Leipzig up next, McGregor said: “We spoke about it as a group that we want to arrive and the only way to do that is to get points in the group.
“It shows you how well we played and the mentality of the squad that they do believe they can do something in the group. It’s just another little marker we can work towards and, hopefully, the next round of fixtures we can go and get that win.
“That will give us another bit to believe we can get something in the group.”
Celtic could easily have taken a victory back to Glasgow after starting and finishing strongly.
McGregor and his team were fast out of the blocks against the Ukrainians and took the lead when Reo Hatate’s effort ended up in the net via a deflection.
The Hoops could have added to their advantage before being sucker-punched on the half-hour as they conceded an equaliser.
Despite that setback, Celtic got straight back into the groove and took charge from the restart. They went at Shakhtar in waves as they strived for their third win in 20 group games but, despite being camped in the Shakhtar half for almost all of the second 45 minutes,
they could not find that elusive winner. Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda all had chances.
The Portuguese twice went close after mazy runs before the big chances fell to the two subs in a frantic final five minutes.
The Greek striker failed to hit the target when picked out in the box by Greg Taylor before he had an added-time effort hacked away as it rolled towards the net.
Maeda was also agonisingly off target when picked out by Josip Juranovic at the far post.
McGregor said: “To come and play so well, only the 15 minute spell before half-time we had to dig in and be resilient.
“But I thought in the second half we were really good and created four or five big chances.
“The next stage for the group is to put one of those away and win the game.
“But this gives us belief and hopefully that will be there in the games to come. A point is a good result when you come away.
“To get something on the board was really vital and another stage for us to go a little bit more.”
Shakhtar were thrilled to get their draw in the end after being pegged back by the Hoops.
Manager Igor Jovicevic slumped to his knees and pointed to the heavens in celebration at full-time.
He said: “This was one of the most important games for at least 20 years. It was a great game, very dynamic.
“Celtic are very dynamic, very aggressive, they move very fast and we knew that we would be facing aggressive pressing.
“If you look at the way they played against Real Madrid, yes Real Madrid won 3-0 but for the first 60 minutes Celtic were actually dominating. That is not by chance, it is the way they play.
“They are very experienced and a very strong team.
“They are a super fast and super aggressive team and the pressing, especially in the beginning, was incredible.
“We tried to hold them off and we failed. They did score a goal but then we felt the support given to us by the fans and that was incredible. We could feel them with us.
“Our team is very young and talented and what I cherish about them is that even after we lost the first goal those young guys resumed control of the ball. We can all be proud of that.
“Don’t forget we were supported by 40million fans in Ukraine and we did score a point, we did take two points away from Celtic and we did score a goal.
“You never know what’s going to happen in the future. This game is something to be really proud about.
“It has shown our character and what we are capable of.
“We turned the impossible into possible, we turned the improbable into probable. It was quite a game to be proud about.”
That will give us another bit to believe we can get something
CALLUM McGREGOR ON GROUP F HOPES FOR CELTS