LIEL ABADA knows just how tight the margins can be when competing at the very highest level. And if the Celtic winger had been in any doubt, his side’s Champions League campaign thus far as all but erased it.
Ange Postecoglou’s team have one point from their opening two group stage fixtures this term but there will be a frustration that they do not have more points on the board. The Premiership champions were unable to capitalise on an impressive first-half showing at home to Real Madrid in their European curtain-raiser before the Spaniards’ quality shone through in the second, while only a devastating counter-attack from Mykhaylo Mudryk denied the Scots the three points away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
As Celtic prepare for a double-header with RB Leipzig, Abada retains a steely determination to prove himself on the biggest stage European football has to offer. The inside forward boasts a remarkable goal scoring record – the wide player scores roughly one in every three games – but is still to score his first Champions League goal.
He had a wonderful opportunity to open the scoring against Real on matchday one but dragged his effort wide after being sent scarpering through on goal in the first half at Parkhead. However, the Israel internationalist will not be dwelling on past mistakes when Celtic take on Leipzig in Germany on Wednesday night.
He explained: "We need to keep playing our football but in the last two games in the Champions League we missed a lot of opportunities, so we need to focus 100 per cent because in the Champions League if you don't score it costs you at this level because the other team will score.
“We need to be focused to score goals.
“It was a good chance but I don't think about it too much because it was against Real Madrid and sometimes in football you score and sometimes you miss. Hopefully, next time I will score.”
Abada’s remarkable scoring record would appear anachronistic in many other periods but in this era where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mo Salah and Neymar provide a barrel-load of goals year upon year, wide players with envious goal tallies are becoming more and more commonplace.
The attacker – who celebrates his 21st birthday tomorrow – has put in the hard yards on the training ground to become a well-rounded threat in the final third, and says he has been inspired by some of the sport’s biggest stars when developing his own game.
“All my career I have played winger but I really work on it at training and also after training,” he said.
“I stay on the pitch and I work on finishing and crosses.
“I really want to help the team win the points from every game and hopefully to keep scoring for Celtic and help my friends in the team.
“I look at those players and teach myself from them because they are the best players in the world.
“It's very good to look at them to hopefully help me score more goals and provide more assists to do my best for Celtic.”
Like so many of Postecoglou’s signings, Abada wasted little time in adapting to his new surroundings when he first arrived in Glasgow in the summer of 2021, having agreed a transfer from Maccabi Petah Tikva.
His compatriot Nir Bitton – who left Celtic during the close season, bringing a nine-year stint at the club to a close – was an important figure in those early months as Abada left his homeland and was settling into life in Scotland, as the winger explained.
“I came from Israel and it's very difficult to be alone when you are so young, but from the first time I came to Celtic all the coaches and players gave me the confidence I need,” he said.
“Nir also helped me a lot at the start, he looked after me always. I am really happy to be here and I hope to keep it like that.
“Nir helped me because when I first came to Celtic I didn't speak English and it was very difficult with the language and he helped me with everything that I needed and always looked after me.
“He made sure I felt good and that I had everything I needed and this really helped me.”
