Ki: Celtic can ‘smash’ Braga
The South Korea international has warned Braga they are in for a shock when they face the atmosphere of a Champions League night at Celtic Park.
Ki’s confidence mirrored the attitude of team-mate Gary Hooper, who had predicted a 4-0 victory for Celtic if they can get an early goal.
A controversial handball decision against the Korean allowed Osario Alan to put Braga ahead in the first leg of the third qualifying round tie and Celtic’s hopes of making the play-off round suffered a huge blow when they conceded two late goals from set-pieces.
But the Celtic players have clearly not given up hope of turning the tie around tonight.
“What we did in Portugal wasn’t good enough and I gave away a silly penalty kick,” Ki said.
“But this (game) will be different because we’ll have 60,000 people in front of us.
“If we play the way we just did in training, I think we can smash them.”
Ki’s bravado was fuelled by Celtic’s displays in the Emirates Cup at the weekend, where they fought back for a 2-2 draw against Lyon before launching another less successful comeback in a 3-2 defeat by Arsenal.
“The cup gave all the players a lot of confidence,” the 21-year-old said.
“We played one of the best teams in the world and we played a great game. It showed to everyone that we are good enough to beat Braga.
“It will be totally different to Portugal because they have never experienced the kind of fans at Celtic. The fans are really amazing.
“Every time we tackle, we will get the ball and attack in front of a lot of people. So I think they will be surprised and afraid.”
Ki added: “They are quite skilful and the organisation of the team was good. But I don’t think they are very powerful or fast.”
While Celtic pushed Arsenal in the final quarter, their defensive fragility had already been exposed.
However, Ki believes Celtic will soon learn from the mistakes made in Portugal.
“It was the first game of the season,” he said.
“So we don’t care about this, we will be much better than this throughout the season.
“We know we made mistakes but the game has gone.
“We can score a lot of goals. What we did against Lyon and Arsenal was really fantastic especially at the end of the game.
“It needs a lot of quality to score goals against the best defenders in the world. So I think the strikers will score a lot of goals.”
While more careful over his words than his young midfielder, Celtic manager Neil Lennon also believes his team are capable of a comeback to prevent them dropping into the Europa League qualifiers.
Lennon said: “We need to get a head of steam up and a groundswell of pressure, and the supporters will play their part as well. I‘m sure they can lift the team to a good performance.
“The atmosphere should be something that Braga have maybe never experienced before.”
The former Celtic skipper added: “Celtic Park, under the floodlights on a European night, will give the players a real taste of why they’re here and what they can expect.
“I just want them to feed off the energy and thrive on it, and bring the house down.
“The fans are huge on these Champions League nights, they are one of the main reasons why our form has been so good over the years at home.
“They bring an energy that gives you a lift as soon as you walk out on the pitch. That backing just elevates your performance.”
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