“He was wonderful that night” - Pundit claims Celtic player was ‘better’ than Vinicius Jr during first half of Champions League tie against Real Madrid 

BT Sport pundit Gordon Strachan has showered praise on Celtic forward Jota for his performance against Real Madrid on September 6, claiming that the Portuguese had a better outing than Los Blancos winger Vinicius Junior.

Celtic suffered a 3-0 defeat to the Spanish giants when the two sides clashed on Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League. Jota proved to be a huge thorn in Real Madrid's side at Celtic Park, tormenting Los Blancos' defense and was unlucky not to find the back of the net.

Although the Spanish giants ended up winning the match courtesy of goals from Eden Hazard, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric, Strachan simply won't let Jota's performance go under the radar.

While discussing Celtic's squad, the football pundit couldn't help but single out the Portuguese attacker for praise. Strachan said on BT Sport, in quotes carried by TBR Football:

“I think they’re all good players, but he’s (Jota) the one player that buys you time. With his ability, defenders look at him and think, ‘I’m not diving in,’ so he can keep it. Now that means getting your players into good defensive positions or more importantly, getting them into attacking positions.

"Good defenders will wait for support and maybe won’t dive in, other players, they might take a chance and think, ‘I can get this.' He buys you time. If you allow him to run at you, he can cross with his right foot, left foot."

Strachan went on to claim that the Celtic forward had a more impressive performance than Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior when the two sides clashed in Scotland last month. He added:

“I’ve got to say in the first half against Real Madrid, he was a better player than Vinicius Jr., he was wonderful that night.”

Real Madrid close to securing Champions League knockout berth

Celtic forward - Jota

Real Madrid managed to keep hold of their position at the top of Group F following their 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk yesterday (October 11). The Spanish giants now have 10 points from four games in the Champions League so far. They are four points above second-placed RB Leipzig and five points above third-placed Shakhtar.

The defending champions only need to win one or draw their two remaining matches to book a spot in the knockout phase of the tournament. They will take on Leipzig away from home on October 25.