Madness from the Daily Mail, Celtic highlights in draw against Shakhtar Donetsk

Celtic earned a point on the road in the UEFA Champions League after a dominant display against Shakhtar Donetsk. Across the course of the 90 minutes, Ange Postecoglou’s side were unlucky not to pick up three points after squandering a number of chances in the second half.

Not all those that were watching have an understanding of how football games work as exemplified by the stunning headline from the Daily Mail saying that ‘CELTIC AVOID SECOND HALF COLLAPSE TO SECURE A DRAW’. Celtic were wholly comfortable for the second half and would have been worthy of three points at the Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw.

Celtic avoid second half collapse to secure a draw after a dominant display against Shakhtar Donetsk https://t.co/UfyNSw3p1W

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) September 14, 2022

It is a staggering take from a game that Celtic controlled, albeit they will be annoyed that they conceded from a sharp counter-attack from the hosts.

The home side were penned in for the first twenty minutes with Celtic scoring through Reo Hatate after a fast start in Warsaw. Donetsk hit back with a fast counter, capitalising on lapses in positioning in the Celtic side. Mudryk broke at pace before firing a shot beyond Joe Hart. The first half went from end to end with Maryan Shved scoring after Mudryk cut the ball back but it was disallowed for going out of play but it was also offside in the build up too.

As the teams emerged from the tunnel in the second half, you saw Celtic press on and continue to impose themselves on the game. Chances came and were passed up. Jota, Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis all had chances but the stubborn ‘hosts’ weathered the storm and escaped with a point.

Celtic may regret their missed opportunities here but the players gave their all and it was one of those evenings where the team just couldn’t find that second goal. Elsewhere, Real Madrid won 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu against RB Leipzig. The result means that Celtic go into the head-to-head with the Bundesliga side in third place with one point meaning that Ange’s team need to come out of these two games on top of the Germans.