Celtic faced Atletico Madrid in their third group game of the 2023–24 Champions League campaign at Parkhead on Wednesday night. Despite taking the lead twice, the Hoops had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Celtic had previously suffered defeats to Feyenoord and Lazio in their first two games, making a victory against the La Liga club crucial to enhancing their prospects of progressing to the knockout stages.
Kyogo Furuhashi opened the scoring just four minutes into the match, but Celtic conceded from the spot in the 25th minute.
The Scottish Premiership champions reclaimed their lead three minutes later, courtesy of Luis Palma, only to see Atletico equalize once again, this time through Alvaro Morata in the second half.
“In the final 45 minutes, the visiting team displayed superior performance, and Celtic legend Chris Sutton expressed his discontent with the team’s cautious approach to maintaining possession during the second half.
Sutton specifically noted that Daizen Maeda, playing in the central striker role, didn’t make a significant impact, and he emphasized the club’s notable absence of Giorgos Giakoumakis.”
The Greek international striker departed Celtic during the January transfer window, joining Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. While Celtic enjoyed success, clinching the title, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup at the end of the 2022–23 campaign, it is evident that they could greatly benefit from his influence in the final third at this moment.
During his 18-month tenure with the Hoops, Giorgos Giakoumakis contributed significantly with 26 goals and two assists in 57 games. He emerged as the top goalscorer in both the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup during his debut season in 2021–22.
The 28-year-old previously held the title of the Eredivisie’s top goalscorer in 2020-21 while playing for VVV-Venlo, where he scored 26 league goals in 30 games. It is arguable that Celtic should have made a more concerted effort to retain such a prolific player.
Celtic is set to commence the second leg of their Champions League group fixtures in a fortnight with a visit to Spain to face Atletico Madrid. A failure to secure a positive result would further diminish their prospects of participating in European football after the Christmas break, considering their current position at the bottom of the group.