Celtic 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Before the final home game in their Champions League group stage, Celtic knew that nothing but a win would be enough to have a chance at European football after Christmas.
Celtic started the game without star man Felipe Jota and an in-form James Forrest watching from the sidelines, however, his omission made way for a more physical presence in Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The game started slow and with Celtic having the bulk of possession in the early stages, it looked as if the Ukrainian opposition had little to offer. There were few chances created and as the first half progressed Celtic needed a goal to make the most of their early dominance.
That goal came in the 34th minute through a Giakoumakis strike into the bottom corner from close range. This caused the Parkhead crowd to erupt as they saw their team score at home for the first time in this yearโs competition. Celtic held onto the lead going into the break despite a chance for Mykhalio Mudryk to equalise, which was met by a great save from Joe Hart.
After the break, Shakhtar looked promising on the counter-attack with good pace in wide areas as they looked to pull themselves level. The end-to-end second half saw only one goal as Mudryk fired a shot into the top left corner following a fast breakaway.
Despite the hosts piling on the pressure in the last 15 minutes, they were unable to get the much-needed winner. An all too familiar story for Celtic in Europe this year as they fail to progress due to a lack of clinical finishing, despite some promising performances.