Michael Owen believes Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic can beat most Champions League teams after their fighting effort against Real Madrid in their first match.
The Hoops outplayed European champions Real in the earlier stages of the match at Parkhead on Tuesday, before the Spanish giant’s class shone through in the second half.
Three goals after half-time to Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard made the 3-0 result look comfortable for Real Madrid.
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In his role as a football pundit, Owen was extremely impressed by the performance from the Postecoglou-led Celtic and feels they can challenge any team in the competition – with RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk also in their group.
“In the end it was exhibition stuff from [Real Madrid] – how to quieten a crowd, how to kill a game and score goals,” Owen said on BT Sport.
“But I think Celtic can walk off the pitch with their heads held high. I’ve seen something there which would suggest to me they can beat most sides in this competition.
“Ok, Real Madrid are the European champions but that is a very, very good Celtic team.”
Former Celtic goalkeeper Packie Bonner feels if the Hoops got the first goal, they could have gone to win the game.
“They were unfortunate that they didn’t get that first goal,” Bonner said on BBC.
“If they had scored in the first half I think it might have been a slightly different outcome to the game.
“Maybe they would have went on and still scored two or three goals but I think it could’ve gave Celtic a real foothold in this game to try and get a win or at least a draw.
“When you don’t score that first goal and don’t take your chances when you are up against a quality team like that it’s going to be a real difficult night.”
Celtic are already five points ahead of rivals Rangers in the Scottish title race after six games, having won all their league matches, scoring 25 goals and conceding only one.
The Hoops take on Livingston in the league on Saturday before travelling to Poland’s capital of Warsaw to meet Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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