Electric’ Aston Villa vs Celtic request as match for the football romantic has Hoops diehard in Villans ranks

Celtic will play Aston Villa in their final Champions League group phase game.

A Celtic legend hopes there’s something riding on Aston Villa versus the Hoops when Champions League battle comes between the pair.

Currently, the Hoops are on seven points from four matches in the league phase. A 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in a strong position to make it beyond the first stage of the competition, with a match in Birmingham with Aston Villa to come in early 2025.

Unai Emery’s side have nine points currently, so they are also on pace for qualification. Celtic hero John Hartson both clubs have something to play for when the game rolls around, with plenty of connections between the pair, including Aston Villa captain John McGinn.

He told Go Radio: “What a stadium to play it as well, Villa Park. It is one of my favourite stadiums in the Premier League. The Holte End and everything else.

“I used to play against players like Paul McGrath, Dean Saunders, Shaun Teale and Dwight Yorke. That was sort of my era when I was at Arsenal and West Ham. Villa Park was always a great place to play. It really was.

“Now that they are in the Champions League. I can’t imagine what the atmosphere is like. Some of the games I watched, Bayern Munich, for instance. The atmosphere was electric, so you put that in with the Celtic travelling away fans. It will be some night. You are just hoping that there is something riding on the game, then you have sentimental stuff.

“You have got John McGinn playing for Aston Villa, a Celtic fan. You have Martin O’Neill, who did so well as a Celtic manager, also Villa manager. There are little links and talking points.”

Alexandro Bernabei turns into transfer goldust as Celtic misfit eyed for stunning double deal with Sergio Ramos

The wing-back is currently back in South America after being bombed out on loan by Brendan Rodgers

Alexandro Bernabei

Celtic misfit Alexandro Bernabei is reportedly the subject of an ambitious swoop from Brazilian club Corinthians that also involves Real Madrid and Spain legend Sergio Ramos.

The Argentine left back was brought to Parkhead by previous Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou for £3.8million from Argentina’s club Lanus in July 2022 and made 19 appearances in all competitions in his first season. However Bernabei soon fell down the pecking order under the Aussie’s successor Brendan Rodgers, and returned to South America in a loan deal to join Brazilian side Internacional until the end of 2024 back in March.

Internacional officials have stated their intention to try and land the 24-year-old on a permanent deal, but sources in South America claim they will face competition from two other clubs in Brazil’s top-flight. Bernabei is reportedly on the radar of Corinthians, who also want to sign 38-year-old Ramos, a free agent after leaving Sevilla last season.

Brazilian outlet O Tempo also claim that Cruzeiro – owned by Selecao icon Ronaldo – are also keeping tabs on the Celtic loanee’s situation at Internacional. They add that the club will only make a move if Internacional opt not to take up their option to sign Bernabei permanently, which according to reports could cost them as much as £8million.

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Scotland reaction: Steve Clarke has say on Ben Doak, Croatia red card and makes worst display admission

Scotland manager reacts to 1-0 win over Croatia at Hampden

Steve Clarke stressed that Scotland were due a break after a first half red card for Croatia helped his team claim an overdue competitive victory with a John McGinn winner four minutes from time.

Midfielder Petar Sucic picked up a second yellow card after a high challenge on John Souttar two minutes before half-time. According to Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic, the decision from referee Orel Grinfeeld changed the game.

Clarke was not going to disagree. “I think when you put two yellow cards together to get a red, I’m not sure it was strong enough to be a red,” he said. “If I’m being honest, if it had happened against us, I would have been just as disappointed as they were.”

Scotland fought hard to break down the ten men and finally did so with four minutes left through John McGinn, after more thrilling wing play from winger Ben Doak, who picked up the man of the match award aged just 19. Asked to assess the teenager’s performance in what was just his third start, Clarke replied that he had expected such a strong performance from a player he clearly has so much faith in.

“It was good but I thought he might be,” he said. “He’s come into the team, he’s shown a really positive attitude, he brings us something a little bit different to what we’ve had before. So I’m really pleased with Ben and he gets the assist for the goal with the run. He could maybe have had a couple more, could maybe have scored one himself. So that’s a contribution from a young player that we need to protect and look after but realise that he’s good for now and hopefully for a long time in the future.”

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke embraces goal scorer John McGinn at full time | SNS Group

Doak will certainly be vital if Scotland are to secure a win on Monday in Poland required to avoid automatic relegation from the top tier of the Nations League at least. There is still a possibility that they can finish second in the group and reach the quarter-finals, if they win in Warsaw and Portugal beat Croatia in Zagreb and these outcomes also involve a three-goal swing. Clarke is only concentrating on getting another three points in the first instance.

“We have to win,” he said. “First job is to go there and win, if we do that then we’ll count up the goals and whatever afterwards. But let’s take it a step at a time. It’s been a hell of a long time since we got a win, now we’ve got to get another one on Monday night. So it’d be nice to get back-to-back (victories).”

Clarke felt Scotland can play a lot better than they did against Croatia, who were clearly the better side in the first half and had their moments in the second half too. Indeed, the manager rated the performance as the worst so far in this section of the Nations League.

“We can play better,” he said. “I think we can be better with the ball, I think we can be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. Obviously the sending off changes the direction of the game but we were due a little break.”

There was a nice moment at the end when Clarke made a beeline towards Croatia skipper Luka Modric, who had played superbly once more on what could be his last appearance on Scottish soil. Asked what he had said to the 39-year-old, Clarke said: “I just wished him well, good luck for the last game,” revealed the manager. “We had a little chat about the game-changing incident.”

Report: Belgian media react to Arne Engels performance in defeat to Italy

Belgium lost out in a narrow defeat to Italy last night in Nations League action.

The Red Devils faced off against Luciano Spaletti’s side and lost at home thanks to a goal from Sandro Tonali within the first 11 minutes.

It leaves Domenico Tedesco’s side in a spot of bother as they now sit back in third from their group with Italy top on 13 points and France second on 10.

One man who played the majority of the action was Celtic’s record signing Arne Engels.

The 22-year-old Engels is one of 13 Celtic stars on international duty but only won his first start on the night.

Yet his performance was praised by sections of the Belgian media who noted him as a bright-spark on a difficult evening.

The playmaker was singled out for doing the dirty work for his country as opposed to his usually creative and attacking style in the midfield for the Hoops.

Engels has shown he can do his defensive duties for Celtic – a clear role he took up in Atalanta during the goalless Champions League tie earlier this season – and he did the same for Belgium last night.

Arne Engels was praised by Belgian media for his defensive maturity

Media outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, as translated into English, applauded the player for his outing and credited him as being a mature presence in the engine room.

They wrote: “Engels showed maturity and precision in his passing, which was crucial for Belgium’s ball possession.”

Another publication, De Standaard, also lauded Engels’ defensive mind and his desire to win the ball back for his team for 90 minutes.

Arne Engels’ Celtic stats since he arrived from Augsburg on a record fee

They wrote: “Engels was tireless in winning the ball back and displayed impressive stamina throughout the entire match.”

The young man has been excellent since he joined Celtic from Augsburg with three goals and six assists from his 14 matches this campaign so far.