Spaniard believes Celtic can make a success of their European campaign.
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Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has given his backing to Champions League rivals Celtic by claiming that they can overcome Ajax and make a success of their European campaign, the Telegraph reports.
Fabregas scored the only goal of the game when the two sides met earlier this week to continue Barca’s 100% start to the season, and after handing the Dutch giants a thrashing of their own, the former Arsenal man believes there is no reason why Celtic can’t get the better of them either.
“It was different – two different games,” said the Barcelona star. “We played Ajax in front of our own fans, remember, but it is always very tough against Celtic at Parkhead.
“They play very well on the counterattack and those fans push them hard all the way but, in the end, I think we played a good game and we deserved the victory.
“Can they beat Ajax over the next two games? Listen, I think Celtic can beat anyone, especially here.
“They have a very good team, they have great commitment and they also have those supporters behind them, which means they really can beat anyone in Glasgow.”
Fabregas also said that he did not see the incident that saw Celtic midfielder Scott Brown given his marching orders for a foul on Neymar, and downplayed the incident’s impact on the final score.
“I didn’t see the incident, to be honest,” he said. “Neymar said that he stepped on his back but I haven’t seen it again yet. Brown didn’t complain much, though.
“I think it’s tricky to call that red card the turning point of the evening. Sometimes playing against 10 men can make the game even more difficult.
“What happened was that they then played for the 0-0 and dropped deep. That made it harder for us because we then had to catch them on the counterattack.
“Even then, they had two chances, with the [James Forrest] shot and the header [by Charlie Mulgrew] from the corner.
“So they could have scored against us, even with 10 men. We had to be careful because we knew it was very important for us to win tonight.
“Even though we are on top of the group, we don’t feel relaxed at all now because there are still many points to play for.
“But to come here and beat one of the toughest opponents we will have to face away from home, that was crucial.
“I wasn’t surprised by how hard Celtic fought once they went down to 10 men. I played here with Arsenal in 2009, I’ve watched them many times on TV and, of course, we lost here last year.
“So we knew what we were coming into and what we would be up against. For me, it is always special to play in this fantastic stadium and to experience this atmosphere. We are privileged to be here.”