GARY LINEKER believes Celtic have shown they have what it takes to take the new Champions League format by storm.
The England legend turned pundit was blown away by Brendan Rodgers‘ side on Wednesday night as they thumped Slovan Bratislava to put their marker down on the new-look competition.
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Celtic‘s 5-1 win propelled them to the top of the league table, with just Bayern Munich sitting ahead on goal difference following their 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb.
Albeit there’s just been one game, it’s unchartered territory for the Hoops as in previous years they have found themselves fighting for survival at the bottom of their group.
But Lineker reckons it could be changed days for the Scottish champions now following the introduction of the league phase this year.
Celtic were given a rather favourable draw and there’s a buzz around Parkhead these days with fans confident their team can progress to the next round.
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That belief has only went up a gear now following Wednesday night’s win too.
And giving his verdict on Celtic’s chances in the competition this season while speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “Talking of exciting football and brilliant stuff, what about Celtic banging in five?
“Now you would say they’re going to play against teams they can beat and I would say probably one of the favourites to reach the play-offs this year.
“I’ll remind everyone again because the teams between 8th and 24th will play in the play-off games to join the top eight in the Champions League last 16.
“So it will be interesting to see. I think with this format, let’s wait and see and see how it pans out.
“The only downside to that is that there’s even more football for the players. But a brilliant win for Celtic and a fantastic start for them.”
Fellow broadcasting partner Micah Richards agreed with Lineker and suggested it’s the club’s best chance of progressing to the next round of the competition.
He added: “You know what, everyone talks about this new Champions League format and no disrespect to Celtic, in previous years and recent history, they might have had an opportunity to win a game maybe in one of the later rounds (of the group stage).
“It might not have been one of the greatest games, it was sort of like for pride. Can we finish third and get into the Europa League?”
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