McAvennie issues emphatic Liel Abada verdict after what he’s seen at Celtic
Frank McAvennie has suggested Ange Postecoglou made the right decision to take Liel Abada off at half time when Real Madrid visited Celtic Park on Tuesday (6 September).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Hoops striker said Abada lacked confidence in the 3-0 defeat to the Spanish giants in their Champions League group stage opener.
The 20-year-old started the European clash at Parkhead and had a chance to open the scoring inside the opening 15 minutes.
The shot was tame and straight at Madrid goalkeeper Thibault Courtois.
The Israeli was subbed off at half time and replaced by Daizen Maeda.
When asked if Postecoglou made the right call at half time, McAvennie told Football Insider: “I would’ve taken him off as well because he missed a few chances.
“We didn’t see the confidence that he’d seen at the weekend for some reason. You’ve got to remember he’s only a young boy. The first chance, Jota played a great ball he’s got to take a touch. It’s a lot easier said than done but he didn’t believe in his pace. It just wasn’t his night.
“There were a couple of times where he got the ball taken off him, it doesn’t matter how good you are sometimes it’s just not your night. He’s only a young boy so I don’t think Ange would have taken him off if he was contributing more to the game. It was just tactical so I can understand that reasoning.
“Maybe it was just the pace from Maeda that he wanted. He’s going to score double figures again this year and we’re going to be raving about him and it wasn’t his best game but he’ll learn from it.“
In other news, a finance guru has tipped Celtic to strike £118m-plus deal after ‘dramatic’ talks update.