John Hartson lauds ‘brilliant’ Jota during Celtic draw with Shakhtar

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John Hartson has told BT Sport (broadcast on 14/9; 19:15) that Jota was brilliant during the stunning solo run that nearly saw Celtic regain the lead in their Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

The Hoops have their first points of the group-stages. But they may come away from their latest tie thinking that they should have taken even more from the game.

An own goal gave them a 10th minute lead. And Ange Postecoglou’s side created a number of huge openings during the second-half. Certainly, Giorgos Giakoumakis will probably have nightmares about the chance he put just wide late on.

But Celtic can be proud of their display. And one player who so nearly produced a moment of sheer magic was Jota.

The Portuguese capitalised on a defensive mistake with just under 20 minutes remaining. He went on to produce an amazing solo run into the box before getting a shot away. Unfortunately, the attempt was kept out with a last-ditch block.

And Hartson was full of praise for Jota after he came so agonisingly close to what would have been the decisive goal.

“It’s brilliant. Celtic win it high up the pitch, he couldn’t quite get his shot away, but that’s some brilliant skill from Jota,” he told BT Sport.

Jota brilliant against Shakhtar Donetsk

Celtic have proved that they can compete with some of the best in Europe in the opening two games. The scoreline in their opening game flattered Real Madrid. And the result could have been so different had the Hoops taken one of their golden chances.

And they played extremely well for large parts of their clash with Shakhtar this week.

Ultimately, they are still searching for that first win. But clearly, they have nothing to fear in their final four group games.