It didn’t really happen for him- Jota on the end of bizarre rant

Charlie Nicholas reckons that the Champions League didn’t really happen for Jota.

If you are wanting to criticise Celtic’s winless six match campaign in Europe’s elite competition there would probably be a few areas of the team that you would look at before picking on the former Benfica winger.

Two goals from four matches is a pretty decent return with Jota scoring half of Celtic’s goals in the competition with an own goal and strike from Giorgos Giakoumakis that other counters for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

The Celtic boss stuck with his principles of being on the front foot throughout the campaign but at the end of six matches there were only two points on the board alongside a serious of ‘what if’ moments.

One of them would be if Jota had been available for the home matches against RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk where his ability to beat an opponent and find the net could have been the difference between three points and one.

Discussing Jota in the Daily Record, Nicholas explained:

Some pundits and supporters talked him up to star at the Champions League level, but I wasn’t among them. Boss Ange Postecoglou may even have been slightly disappointed with him, although I accept his injury didn’t help as Celtic crashed out in the group stage. He might have scored a late consolation goal in a 5-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. But I didn’t like it when he said it was the best moment of his life. OK, he netted against Real – and I never got that opportunity. Not many people do!

I expected Jota to embrace and shine in the Champions League – but it didn’t really happen for him. Former Bhoys boss Gordon Strachan and a few pundits said he played really well in the first game against Real Madrid at home as the Spanish side left with a 3-0 victory. I did not as I don’t believe he did enough when he had the ball. Celtic must get him to produce more. That is the question mark against him.

There is no doubt the potential is there. He has to concentrate on returning to the form he showed in the first couple of months but manage it over a full season. It’s disappointing there is no European football after Christmas but he and the rest of the Celtic squad need to focus on retaining their Premiership crown while also trying to win the Scottish and League cups. I expect Jota to have a big role in that ambition. And, if a treble is achieved, there will be huge interest in him come summer.”

Most Celtic fans will be delighted and relieved if Jota is involved in the Champions League next season as a Celtic player.