ANGE POSTECOGLOU, it appears, doesn’t back down. He doubles down. His attacking principles may not have garnered the rewards he felt his team deserved from their opening four matches in the competition, but rather than be discouraged on matchday five, he was seemingly emboldened.
The Celtic manager decided to go for broke against Shakhtar Donetsk, being as it was that a win was the least he required to keep his team’s hopes of making the Europa League knockout stages alive. He has been asked about the possibility of pairing Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis far more often than he has dared to roll that particular dice, but now he decided was the time to go all in.
For a time, it looked as though the gamble would pay off. Giakoumakis got the opening goal in the first half, and Celtic looked to be on their way to their first win in the Champions League this season.
