WITH everything else that’s going on in Valencia and back home in the West of Scotland, tonight’s match has been overlooked somewhat.
Celtic as we all know are to goals down and need to produce an away result like the one against Anderlecht in the Champions League last season. In the eighties Celtic lost the first leg of a European tie 2-0 to Sporting Lisbon and turned that round by winning 5-0 – highlights from a pretty special game are below.
In the nighties, when we were just about at our lowest, we lost 2-0 to Cologne in the first leg but turned that around to win the second leg 3-0. Again it was another wonderful night and brief highlights are below.
Both the first leg defeats were away from home and the game was turned around at Parkhead. However if you look at the Anderlecht home and away results we won 3-0 in Belgium and lost 1-0 at Celtic Park. Here’s how Celtic won 3-0 away from home in the Champions League.
So while a Miracle in the Mestalla is extremely unlikely stranger things have happened in football. Leicester won the Premier League, Denmark the Euros even when they hadn’t qualified, Greece won that competition too, the Rangers never got a penalty at the weekend…
Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media last night after The Celtic party arrived at the Mestalla Stadium.
“It’s a game that we look forward to. We obviously have to work our way into the game.
“If we think back to our home leg, we started well and lost our way a little bit. We conceded just before and after half-time, which broke our rhythm in the game.
“On Thursday, it’ll be important to be defensively compact, tight and concentrated. And then when we have the ball we must look to create opportunities. The first goal will be very important.”
Note that Brendan refers to the first goal and not an early goal. If we get it even with a quarter of an hour left it will be a very uncomfortable finish for Valencia and Celtic can throw on some subs and go for it.
“An early goal isn’t very important, it’s more about not giving anything away.
“Our focus is on bringing our game. If we can get that first goal, that will give the team that extra confidence to go and get another.
“Last week was disappointing and we lost our way a little bit. After any disappointing performance we’ve always tried to analyse it openly and honestly. We had to be concentrated on Sunday to get a result and we eventually did that.
“That’s been the make-up of this group since I came. We can come back again tomorrow night (tonight). It’ll be a challenge. If I look at the game and ask if we have a chance – the answer is: Of course, we do. Even if it will be difficult.
“The result and how we performed in Sunday’s game will give us confidence but this is a different game and different level. What we need to ensure is that in the moments of pressure we can stay strong and stay compact.
“It’s a challenge for us, but we’re really looking forward to it,” Brendan said, as reported on the official site.
A 3-0 Celtic miracle in the Mestalla would be particularly sweet given the disgraceful way the Spanish Police have behaved and the unfriendly attitude from the La Liga side who clearly lack the class of Barcelona on and off the pitch.
COYBIG
