Postecoglou upbeat despite winless Champions League campaign

Madrid: Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou feels they could still take positives from their performance in the Bernabeu despite being on the end of a 5-1 defeat by Real Madrid.

Celtic had 14 attempts at goal but their inability to make the most of their opportunities again hurt them, as it did throughout their Champions League campaign.

Postecoglou’s side were two down at half-time after conceding two penalties to handballs and having a spot-kick of their own saved by Thibaut Courtois as Josip Juranovic failed to cut the deficit.

Real were clinical after the interval while Celtic continued to miss opportunities until substitute Jota scored a late consolation with an excellent free kick.

“Firstly, credit to Real Madrid, they are a fantastic football team. They have got quality all through their side and when they get the ball moving they are difficult to stop,” former Socceroos boss Postecoglou said.

“Unfortunately we didn’t take our chances and you always felt when they go forward they have the quality to hurt you and that happened.

Celtic manager and former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.Credit: Getty

“I’m disappointed for our players and supporters that they didn’t get more joy out of the game but I can’t fault our players’ efforts and their endeavour, they gave everything.”

Postecoglou agreed that the game summed up a campaign which saw them take two points and finish bottom, after they were again punished for failing to capitalise on chances at crucial moments.

“Obviously you can’t take away from the fact they are a fantastic football team but we still came here and created a lot of opportunities, that I think other clubs would struggle to do,” he added.

“So there is still something in that for us but ultimately we have fallen short.

Champions League matchday 6 results

Wednesday (AEDT):

• Porto 2 Atletico Madrid 1
• Bayer Leverkusen 0 Club Brugge 0
• Bayern Munich 2 Inter Milan 0
• Liverpool 2 Napoli 0
• Marseille 1 Tottenham 2
• Rangers 1 Ajax 3
• Viktoria Plzen 2 Barcelona 4
• Sporting Lisbon 1 Eintracht Frankfurt 2

Thursday fixtures:

• Real Madrid 5 Celtic 1
• Shakhtar Donetsk 0 RB Leipzig 4
• AC Milan 4 RB Salzburg 0
• Maccabi Haifa 1 Benfica 6
• Copenhagen 1 Dortmund 1
• Manchester City 3 Sevilla 1
• Juventus 1 PSG 2
• Chelsea 2 Dinamo Zagreb 1

“We will need to make sure we understand the areas - and we do - that we have fallen short in and some of it is just experience. For our guys, all this is new.

“Our goal and ambition should be to be at Champions League level every year. I think you will find, if we do that, and show the same sort of intent and endeavour, we will start to make more of an impact.”

Madrid finished with 13 points, one more than Leipzig, who won 4-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk in the other group match on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, a second-half goal by defender Nuno Mendes earned Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win at Juventus but rivals Benfica topped Group H thanks to more away goals scored in all games.

Rico Lewis became one of the youngest-ever scorers in the Champions League as Manchester City came from behind to beat Sevilla 3-1.Credit: Getty

Benfica thrashed Maccabi Haifa 6-1 in the other group game and the Portuguese and French teams ended level on 14 points, having drawn their two head-to-heads 1-1 and with a goal difference of nine.

Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock in Turin in the 13th minute when he received the ball from Leo Messi and dodged through Juve’s defence to unleash a low shot inside the far post.

Juventus levelled shortly before half-time after Juan Cuadrado sent the ball into the six-yard box with a diving header and defender Leonardo Bonucci tapped it in for an equaliser.

PSG sealed the win in the 69th minute when Mbappe found Mendes with an excellent cross between two Juve players for the substitute to score within one minute of coming on.

Juventus secured the Europa League spot, finishing third on three points.

Manchester City teenager Rico Lewis marked his first senior start with his maiden goal for the club as City came from behind to complete their commanding Champions League group stage with a 3-1 defeat of Sevilla on Wednesday.

With the prolific Erling Haaland absent again, Argentine striker Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez also impressed as they got on the scoresheet but the night belonged to Lewis.

City were already confirmed as Group G winners and Sevilla assured of third spot, and Pep Guardiola made seven changes to his starting line-up with 17-year-old right back Lewis seizing his opportunity at the Etihad Stadium.

PA, Reuters

Watch every match of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League on Stan Sport.