‘We need to be better’ – Mikael Lustig makes admission after Celtic win v Hibernian
By James Black
Celtic defender Mikael Lustig was happy to help his side book a place in the League Cup final with a 4-2 win over Hibernian on Saturday, but insists they need to do much better in Europe.
Lustig scored twice in the first-half to give Celtic a 2-0 lead before a double from Moussa Dembele after the break secured the win for Brendan Rodgers’ side in a pulsating affair at Hampden Park.
The Hoops bounced back well from their 3-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich but Lustig believes they need to do more to prove they are a “good team.”
Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain have strolled past Celtic in Europe so far this season and for all their domination in domestic football, the Scottish champions look a long way from competing with the continent’s big boys.
“We can win games but we still feel we need to be better because we want to be a good side in Europe as well,” Lustig said, as quoted by the Evening Telegraph website.
“Every game we want to prove we are a good team.
“It’s not enough to just win in Scotland, we want to win in Europe as well.
“When you play against a good side and they are much better than you, you just want to pay the game straight away.
“So we were quite happy to play here, especially as Hampden is a good pitch for us.”
The win for Brendan Rodgers’ side now sets up a potential Old Firm League Cup final at Hampden in November with Rangers set to play Motherwell tomorrow in the other semi-final on Sunday.
Next up for Celtic is a trip to Pittodrie for a top of the table clash with Derek McInnes’ in-form Aberdeen.
The two sides are level on points at the summit of the Scottish Premiership after the early fixtures and both will be hoping for a win to open up a small gap at the top of the table.
In other Celtic news, Chris Sutton has issued a stern warning to the Hoops about their upcoming fixtures.
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