The battle to finish behind Real Madrid in Celtic’s Champions League group could “go to the wire”, according to Jamie Carragher.

The pundit, who won the trophy with Liverpool in 2005, claims Ange Postecoglou’s side have an equal chance of finishing runners-up to the current holders as RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk:

“Real Madrid are the European champions. They are, of course, huge favourites to go through. I think the result between Shakhtar Donetsk and Leipzig, then Celtic will fancy their chances when those two teams come to Celtic as well. They would have looked at the Real Madrid one as a bonus game. But when the other two come, then they would be expected to get 4-6 points in that. I think this could be a real competitive group stage that goes right to the wire, with Real Madrid possibly confirming their place in the knockout stages after four games. The rest will go to the wire.”

After putting up a fierce battle against Real on Tuesday evening, Carragher is right to believe that the Hoops should be able to pick up points in their group when they face Leipzig and Shakhtar (particularly at home).

No game is straightforward at this level, though, and Postecoglou will need to ensure that his players are able to maintain the quality and energy levels they showed in their first match, despite losing 3-0 on the night.

Celtic travel to Poland to face Shakhtar in their next European fixture on Wednesday. The Ukrainian side won 4-1 away at Leipzig last time out so it will be a stern test.