Celtic failed to end their Champions League campaign on a high as they were beaten comfortably 5-1 by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
It has been a strange return to Europe’s biggest stage for the Scottish champions . For whatever reason, Celtic struggled massively to convert their chances and that is ultimately what has seen them crash out at the group stage
Los Blancos, like they did earlier in the competition, gave the Hoops a much needed lesson in chance conversion as they fired five past the deflated Celts, with five different scorers. Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the Spanish side two goals ahead from the spot before Marco Asensio, Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde finished the job in the second half.
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The Bhoys were even given a helping hand to spare their blushes in front of goal when they were awarded a penalty after having conceded two themselves. Liel Abada was brought down by Ferland Mendy. You thought ‘finally, this is the opportunity they needed’. Thibaut Courtois then denied Josip Juranovic with a fine stop.
Similar to the reverse fixture in Glasgow, Ange Postecoglou’s team created some great chances to hurt Real Madrid, but their efforts were either too tame and easy for Courtois to gather, or the Belgian positioned himself well to keep them out. It needed something special to beat him and it took a sublime free-kick from Jota to earn the visitors a consolation - but at least it gave something the travelling fans to cheer about
This time it's Celtic's as Mendy takes down Abada, but Juranović sees his spot-kick SAVED by Thibaut Courtois! 👐
#UCL
Celtic’s performances in the Champions League have never been in question. In actual fact they have turned in some strong performances throughout the campaign - they have just been made to pay for not taking their chances.
Across their six matches they have had countless opportunities to score goals but for whatever reason their European journey comes to an end with the Hoops having only scored three goals.
The team has looked good going forward and there have been some lovely intricate passages of play. They may have lost to Real Madrid at Celtic Park 3-0 but for the first half at least, Postecoglou’s side were the more dangerous, and failing to score came back to haunt them.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team gave them another important lesson in taking chances because it is vital at this level. The record 14-time European champions had two penalties in the game and converted both. They then scored a further three from open play, showing Celtic exactly how it’s done.
Considering Celtic had not reached the group stage of the Champions League for the past four years, they have given a good account of themselves despite just collecting two points, which statistically is their worst group stage campaign on record.
The truth is this will be a lesson for the Glasgow giants. They should be reaching this stage of the tournament every year and that is what Postecoglou needs to achieve at Celtic Park. This latest experience will better prepare them for future European adventures but they will always look back at this season and think about what might have been if they were more ruthless in front of goal.
