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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Graeme McGarry

Matt O’Riley urges Celtic to get back to Champions League level form after shaky domestic spell

MATT O'RILEY says that Celtic must find their Champions League performance levels again to get a result against RB Leipzig, after a couple of shaky showings on the domestic front. 

Celtic were hugely disappointed to come away from their opening two matches in the Champions League with just a single point to show for their impressive efforts against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk, and were particularly frustrated with the draw against the Ukrainians last time out after a dominant display in Poland. 

They followed up that match by sustaining a shock defeat to St Mirren in the Premiership, before labouring to a 2-1 win over Motherwell at the weekend at Celtic Park following the international break. 

O'Riley is certain though that they can peak once more when required in Germany on Wednesday night. 

"If we perform to the levels we did against Shakhtar we’d be confident of coming away with another positive result, " O'Riley said. 

"Regardless of who we play against, we always feel that we can come away with a positive result. 

‘We know they are a good side, but we are also a very good side. So, I think if we are on it then, yes, we’ve got a great chance of winning the game. 

"It said a lot that there was a hint of disappointment that we didn’t come away with the three points in Poland. 

"You can be the better team in a match and still not win. I think that was an example of that. 

"Even against Real Madrid, for the first however many minutes, we were in my opinion the more threatening team. 

"But due to them being a bit more clinical than us, that separated the two sides. 

"But if we can just tidy up on a few things we’ve got every chance."

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