Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has warned his teammates that they can expect a tough fight from Celtic when they face the Scottish club in the Champions League group stages.
Barcelona have been once again handed a group of death after being paired against Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Celtic. Of the four teams, Celtic are seen as the least possible threat to Barcelona since the Scottish club have nowhere near of the quality of players at the disposal of Luis Enrique. Even though the arrival of manager Brendan Rodgers in the summer has contributed to players like Kolo Toure coming to the club, they are expected to finish bottom of the group.
Messi is one of the few players in this current Barcelona team to have come up against Celtic. The two teams came up against each other in the group stages of the 2013 Champions League season. However, the world witnessed one of the shocking results in the 2012 Champions League group stages. Celtic were perceived to have less quality than this current team. Even then, they managed an astonishing 2-1 win over the Barcelona team at Celtic Park. They are largely relied upon their home advantage to produce this stunning result and Messi was one of the scorers on the night.
“Celtic are a team we have got to know well in Europe and after seasons without Champions League football they will have a point to prove.Their team is very different to the ones that we have played in the past. A lot of players have left and they have many new ones, but what won’t have changed is their spirit and desire.It’s always important in the Champions League to win the first game, especially if you want to win the group,” said the Barcelona superstar.