Sport nationCeltic Midfielder Arne Engels Confident of Champions League Progression Ahead of Young Boys Clash
Celtic midfielder Arne Engels has expressed his confidence that the Hoops belong in the knockout stages of the Champions League, ahead of their crucial clash with Young Boys at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening. A victory over the Swiss side would all but secure Celtic’s place in the play-off stage of the competition, with a tough trip to Aston Villa still to come.
Engels, who has been an integral part of Brendan Rodgers’ side this season, believes that Celtic have the quality and focus to achieve their goal of reaching the knockout stages. “This group has a lot of big things they want to achieve together,” Engels said. “Right now I don’t want to talk about what if or what would be, we still need to achieve it and that’s a big game for us coming on Wednesday and a big opportunity.
“I think we are ready for it as a squad and we feel what we can do in some types of games that we have the qualities to make a difference, and we feel in big games that we can do really well and that we can perform as a team. We all feel that we belong to the knockouts and we will do everything to go there.”
Young Boys, who currently sit bottom of the Champions League group, will be looking to bounce back in Glasgow after a disappointing 0-0 draw with bottom club FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League on Saturday. However, Engels is wary of the challenge posed by the Swiss side and insists that Celtic will not be taking them lightly.
“It’s Champions League and every team in the Champions League has a lot of qualities, otherwise they wouldn’t be in the Champions League so we need to be on top of our game,” Engels said. “I think we are ready for it, as a team we are focused on what we need to do, and like we have shown already in previous weeks we can create a lot of chances and I’m hoping we can do the same again.”
The match against Young Boys is set to be a thrilling encounter, with Celtic Park expected to be electric on Wednesday evening. Engels is relishing the opportunity to play in front of the Hoops’ passionate supporters and is confident that they will make a significant impact on the game.
“The supporters will be there, and we will be there, so it will be a really crazy night hopefully and it’s always unbelievable to play at Celtic Park, especially on European Nights so I’m really looking forward to that, and the team is really looking forward to it,” Engels said.
With Celtic on the cusp of securing their place in the play-off stage of the Champions League, the match against Young Boys takes on added significance. Engels and his teammates will be determined to deliver a performance that will propel them into the knockout stages of the competition.
Sport nation
