Celtic suffer blow days before Champions League return vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the season by beating Real Betis 2-1, in the first game at the Santiago Bernabeu in this campaign. This mid week, they will be facing another team that has been perfect till now in the form of Celtic, who got an even more impressive win this weekend by beating their Glasgow rivals and last season’s UEFA Europa League finalists, the Rangers, 4-0 at Parkhead.

It is safe to say that Real Madrid will be the favourites going into the game against Celtic, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side cannot afford to take the Scottish champions lightly.

They play a fast-pressing, highly intense style of football under the management of Ange Postecoglou and have been scoring for fun this season. Celtic are also no strangers to causing an upset in the Champions League either. In 2012, they had beaten a Barcelona-side that consisted of the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and other all-time greats. So, Los Blancos have to be careful, as they are notoriously slow starters in the competition as well.

Celtic have been handed a major blow just days before the game against Real Madrid though, after their star striker, Kyogo Furuhashi, picked up a shoulder injury against the Rangers.

Celtic superstar suffers injury just days before Champions League return vs Real Madrid

While profiling the three teams in Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League group, The Real Champs had placed Kyogo as the man to watch out for when it comes to Celtic.

The Japanese international’s incredible combination of pace, finishing ability, movement and positioning could have been a big worry for Real Madrid’s defenders. In some ways, Kyogo is similar to Timo Werner, who Los Blancos have struggled to deal with over the years.

Unless Kyogo ends up undergoing a miracle recovery in the space of a few days, one would not expect to see him in the Celtic matchday squad against Real Madrid.