Stuart Armstrong offers Celtic counter argument amid Angeball 'naivety' fear
The Scottish Champions were caught out by an impressive Madrid side and exit the competition winless.
Celtic bowed out of the Champions League on the final match day having been dealt a tough lesson in a 5-1 defeat against Real Madrid.
Three penalties were awarded in a frantic first half. Luka Modric opened the scoring from the spot within six minutes before Rodrygo stepped up from 12-yards to make it two. Josip Juranovic then spurred the opportunity to reduce the deficit before half time after his effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Things got worse for Celtic in the second half as Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde all netted without reply before Jota came off the bench to smash in a spectacular free-kick late on to give the Hoops a consolation goal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ange Postecoglou's men were given a stark reminder of the difference in level at Europe's top table with several chances missed throughout their six Group F fixtures as they exit without registering a victory. They will now turn their attention back to domestic duty as they look to cement top spot in the Scottish Premiership before the World Cup break and put themselves in a position to be back competition with sides like Madrid next season.
Here's what the pundits said after a disappointing night in Madrid.
Steve McManaman
"Celtic have to be a little bit more savvy in Europe, don't they. They are too easy to play against. They were a little bit naive. Yes they had nothing to play for and they can go and do something tonight but once you get to 2-0 or 3-0, you always start looking at conceding and that's not what you don't want to happen at times.
"But I thought it was a very enjoyable game and hopefully these boys, the Celtic lads will have learned from this experience, they will have enjoyed it and want plenty more of it in the near future."
Stuart Armstrong
"I think on paper 5-1 is a heavy defeat. In the game, Celtic did have chances but they all followed the same rhythm of being unable to take them. In the end it's a convincing, classy performance from Real Madrid.
"That's the positive news (Celtic created opportunities); if they weren't creating chances you would be worried. They are up against a quality opposition. They had a few, they also missed a penalty, probably one extra penalty given against them that wasn't and you can see the Celtic fans are proud of the performance.
"It's a very good experience for the players and they can hopefully come back next year and perform much better in the group."
Chris Sutton
"Ange Postecoglou is trying to change a mindset here. I like what he's trying to do, and the message he's trying to send."
Peter Grant
"There's not much you can do. Madrid have just got better players and their quality shone through. The gulf between them is there to be seen."
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