Ange Postecoglou will not change Celtic's approach against Real Madrid; striker Kyogo Furuhashi is available for the Champions League opener on Tuesday night; defender Carl Starfelt will be out for "a couple of weeks" will a knee injury
Wednesday 7 September 2022 08:53, UK
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will not change his approach against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisting greater risks can bring greater opportunities.
They go into Tuesday night's group opener against the current champions of Europe on a high after beating Rangers 4-0 in the first Old Firm game of the season to open up an early five-point lead in the title race.
Celtic's fast-paced attacking style of football has led to 29 goals in eight domestic games so far this season, with only two conceded.
Next up is the challenge of the holders, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid sides which includes stars such as Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr set to descend on Glasgow on Tuesday.
It is set to be another exciting European night at Parkhead and Postecoglou is determined to make to stick to his own methods on his Champions League debut.
"If there's a system that doesn't give you risk, I'd love to hear it," he said.
"Any system you play, any approach you take there's an inherent risk, but there's also sometimes the greater the risk the greater the opportunity.
"We're trying to do things a little bit differently, we don't want to be like every other team.
"With that there's always a possibility you'll stumble, that's fine. We've stumbled in the past, the important thing is you just dust yourself off and keep going.
"There's no point in us thinking about winning, losing or any other result.
"The first thing we want to do is make sure we perform, because we're playing against a top football team with fantastic players and a brilliant manager.
"What we want to do is go out there and offer the best of ourselves to measure up against that."
Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is available for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Real Madrid but Carl Starfelt will miss out.
The Japan forward went off five minutes into Celtic's 4-0 win over Rangers on Saturday after hurting his shoulder in a challenge with John Lundstram.
However, he was back on the training pitch at Lennoxtown on Monday morning and will compete with his replacement on Saturday, Giorgos Giakoumakis, for a place in the starting line-up.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou said: "Kyogo hurt his shoulder and trained this morning. He looked OK so he is available.
"I haven't made a decision on whether he will play or not but, in terms of him training and doing everything in training, he was fine."
Starfelt went off with a knee problem early in the second half of Saturday's derby. Moritz Jenz replaced the Sweden centre-back to make his fifth appearance of the season.
Postecoglou added: "We haven't had an exact diagnosis. It's nothing too serious but it will probably keep him out for a couple of weeks."
Carlo Ancelotti warned Celtic that Real Madrid have no concerns about defending as the European champions prepare to take on Postecoglou's all-action style.
Postecoglou has vowed to maintain the approach that has yielded 29 goals in seven matches this season when Champions League football returns to Parkhead following a five-year absence.
"I don't think Celtic will change their style or attitude on the pitch," former Everton and Chelsea boss Ancelotti said. "They want to play attacking football. This is absolutely normal at their home.
"We are not worried to defend because we defend well and we have defended really well in the past. One of the key points of the triumph last season was to defend well sometimes. A team has to be able to defend well and that is what we would like to do on Tuesday.
"It's obviously going to be a difficult game. They are a lot like us - they have a good dynamic at the moment. They play with a lot of intensity, but we are prepared. We are ready for it and hopefully we get a victory in our first game."
Four-time Champions League winner Ancelotti has not won on three previous visits to Celtic Park.
AC Milan were twice held to goalless draws during his spell in charge of the club, including a last-16 tie in the 2006/07 campaign in which the Rossoneri ended up as champions. Months later the holders went down 2-1 in a group stage game following Scott McDonald's late winner.
"It's true, it's a very difficult stadium for me and for my teams in the past," Ancelotti added. "It's a really difficult stadium but a fantastic atmosphere. For the fact that I love this park, I love that my team can play in this atmosphere."
