The Celtic figures that emphasise entertainment - and show Ange Postecoglou isn't hopelessly idealistic

Celtic in a nutshell, Ange Postecoglou’s front-foot philosophy in a nutshell, is revealed by a glance at the ‘for’ and ‘against’ goal columns covering the 32 teams competing in the Europa League.

Celtic's attacking trident of Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota and Liel Abada have been responsible for five of the eight goals netted in the club's Europa League campaign. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The four games Celtic have contested in the group stage have produced no fewer than 18 net-rustling moments. No other team has been involved in such goalfestery. As a result, Postecoglou’s men have become the neutrals’ watch in this year’s tournament – the Celtic manager’s aim in being on record as stating he wanted all across the continent to take notice of the football his team plays. Those statistics might be considered among the main upsides of a full-square adherence to putting the ball in the pokey more often than opponents pull off that trick against you.

As it stands, though, there is a pretty major downside. With 10 goals conceded, two more in the exhilarating 3-2 victory away to Ferencvaros the other night, among the Europa League participants no defence has been breached more than is true of Celtic. Indeed, the 10 goals against total is an unwanted distinction shared only with the vanquished Hungarians… Set against that, Celtic have scored twice as many as the Budapest club by netting eight times. Naturally, Postecoglou’s team cannot grow and develop in cross-border competition if they continue to cough up goals as they have in their Group G campaign. However, right now, the apparent porousness could be regarded as an acceptable price to pay for their attacking vitality and potency.

The conclusion may seem over-the-top. But it is offered for two reasons. Only five clubs have bagged more goals – Lyon, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Braga. Notably, every one of this quintet top their groups – the Germans doing so in Celtic’s section. No team sitting third, as Celtic do through trailing Real Betis by a point, and Leverkusen by four, have racked up eight goals. Rangers, Marseille and Genk, in the same position in their groups, have claimed only three.

With Bayer up next for Celtic in Germany on November 25, and then a Betis home encounter to close their group campaign a fortnight later, Celtic’s goals against total could well shoot up. But, with both Ferencvaros’ strikes this week not attributable to over-committing in attack, there are signs that they are beginning to balance out the push and pull required in Postecoglou’s forward-thinking system.

Celtic remain a team in their infancy. The front three of Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota and Liel Abada, a trident that proved so devastating in Budapest with a stonking goal apiece for them, have started only six games together. Their potential for growth, and for James Forrest to offer an inviting alternative on the right flank, is undeniable. Even now, though, they have been responsible for five of Celtic’s eight goals in the group stage. It will still take an almighty effort for Celtic to nudge out Betis – and it will have to be the Spaniards, surely - to earn a place in the knock-out stages of the Europa League. But the notion that they could just blast their way through, which Postecoglou patently has set them up to attempt, can no longer casually bring the charge that the Australian is hopelessly idealistic.

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