Celtic’s European dreams hang in the balance as former stars assess their chances | OneFootball

Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady has voiced concerns about the club’s prospects in Group D of the UEFA Champions League.

He suggested that they are realistically now fighting for third place. This declaration comes following an “absolute hammer blow” suffered by Celtic in injury-time, resulting in a defeat to Lazio at home.

Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi had opened the scoring early on before the Roman club equalised minutes later through Matias Vecino. The Serie A side secured the win through Pedro, who netted in the dying moments.

Celtic currently languish at the bottom of their group, with zero points from their first two matches. Group leaders Atletico Madrid have four points.

Brendan Rodgers’ team faces a daunting challenge with a home and away double-header against the Spanish giants.

McGeady acknowledged that there are positives to take away from their performances but conceded that their start has been far from ideal.

During an interview with BBC Sportsound, McGeady said: “The first two games could have been a springboard for their European campaign, but now it’s a very difficult double-header coming up against Atletico.

“No one is running away with the group. It’s still very tight, but it’s now about looking towards the Europa League and trying not to finish bottom.”

Adding to the sentiments, former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner believes that Celtic did not deserve to lose to Lazio, particularly after an impressive performance.

Bonner stated: “I thought in the last 20 minutes only one team were going to win it, and that was Celtic.

“They were pressing, they were in the ascendancy, but then in the last five minutes, it looked like they were happy to take a 1-1. The crowd were getting edgy, and you just felt there might be a sting in the tail.

“Unfortunately, it came in the last minute, and there was no time to recover.”

Both McGeady and Bonner agree that securing at least third place in the group is vital for Celtic’s European aspirations.

The road ahead will undoubtedly be challenging, but Celtic remain determined to fight for at least a place in the Europa League.