da betsson： It’s safe to say not many people gave Celtic much hope when they arrived at Parkhead on Wednesday evening.
da 888： After a 7-0 crushing away loss at Barcelona in the last round, everyone seemed to tout the Bhoys as the potential group whipping boys, and you couldn’t blame anyone for that view. Brendan Rodgers’ side were given a footballing lesson at the Nou Camp, a lesson in ruthlessness, consistency and counter-attacking.
So when they returned to Scotland seven goals worse off, people really ruled them out of the running to get out of the group. But fast-forward a couple of weeks to their tie against Man City and things are looking a whole lot different. A cracking 3-3 draw at home in Scotland was truly deserved and if anything, it proved to the world that Celtic do have every chance of getting out of this tough Champions League group.
Not convinced? Here are THREE reasons why Celtic can make it to the last 16…
Pure heart and spirit
Everything the Hoops showed against Manchester City was missing against Barcelona. It’s a well-proven fact that the other sides in this group do have more footballing quality, but regardless you can’t buy Celtic’s pure spirit and heart.
Three times they took the lead against Pep Guardiola’s side on Wednesday night and despite the Premier League giants battling back, they kept going and held out for a draw, even when things got nervy towards the end.
Footballing talent is one thing but having a squad that is willing to learn from defeats and work for each other always has the chance of pulling off an upset.
Time is on their side
We’re just two games into the Champions League group stages and whilst Barcelona are sitting pretty at the top of Group C, Celtic have plenty of time to turn it around. With a double header against bottom-of-the-table Borussia Monchengladbach up next, it really is crunch time for Brendan Rodgers and his players.
But after that, they’ve still got games against City and Barcelona. They’ll probably be hoping results go in their favour and Barcelona run away with the group but still, with four fixtures left to play, there are plenty of opportunities for Celtic to pick up points.
Their supporters really are the 12th man
We see it year after year, Celtic supporters never ever disappoint. Travelling in their thousands they’re an extremely impressive bunch of fans on the road, but it’s at home where they really give their side a much-needed boost.
The atmosphere against Manchester City was absolutely electric and you can really see how the Celtic Park faithful carry their team. There are some young players in the squad and to have those fans shouting, cheering and supporting the team in the fanatical way they do is absolutely fantastic.
Barcelona know how special the atmosphere can get in Scotland and the Bhoys will hope their supporters could help them get an unlikely three points when they welcome the Catalans at the end of November.