Weir 'impossible to stop' as Celtic cling to positives

The Celtic players may not have been thankful for much as they walked off the pitch after their 4-0 defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League, but the one thing the Scottish contingent might have privately enjoyed was Caroline Weir's stunning strike.

Out of the Scotland picture for a year due to a knee ligament injury, Weir has come back with a bang, almost literally as she arced a fierce and almost trademark shot into the Celtic net after just seven minutes.

"Caroline scored a goal that was impossible to stop," Celtic captain Kelly Clark said succinctly.

So while it was disappointment for Celtic in Europe, Scotland fans had something to savour before their Euro 2025 play-off semi-final with Hungary next week.

If the Scots can manage a victory over the two legs, it will set up another tie against either Montenegro or Finland for a place at the European Championships.

Weir has not featured for Scotland since a 1-1 draw with Belgium in the Nations League in September 2023 when she ruptured her ACL, missing 12 Scotland matches since.

She returned to action for Real Madrid earlier this season and scored twice on her first appearance back, and her form has not faltered since.

It is now four goals in nine games from the midfielder.

"It's a moment of brilliance and it's everything we've seen her do for years," former Scotland defender Leanne Crichton said on BBC Scotland's Sportsound.

"She's managed to come back quite seamlessly, it looks that way from the outside.

"When you come back from that injury there can be a couple of setbacks, but maybe just the timing of her return and having that full pre-season has helped.

"She seems to have hit the ground running. For me she is still Real Madrid's best player. She's the one that makes the best decisions all the time."

Sadiku content with 'amazing' Celtic

Weir's goal set the tone for what turned out to be a difficult evening for Elena Sadiku's Celtic side, as they continued in their first ever Champions League group campaign.

It's now no points and no goals after opening with a home defeat by Dutch champions FC Twente, and this sore one in Madrid.

There was no doubt Real were the dominant side and probably should have made more of their chances early on, but Celtic battled until the final quarter when the dam broke and the hosts added three late goals.

Sadiku though, insisted 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game.

"I think how we played football was amazing against a team like Real Madrid," the Swede said.

"I'm very proud of the team. First half, we defended well and had energy from the girls.

"Second half, we created chances and that could've changed the game. We need to be executing those better."

"For me, how we played football and how we attacked shows what I want with this team."

Crichton agreed Celtic's performance was an improvement on the defeat by Twente, where the Scottish champions struggled to create chances.

And, had Murphy Agnew and Emma Lawton made more of their opportunities, things might have been different.

"In my opinion it's really harsh," the former Scotland defender said of the scoreline.

"When you go up against top sides you expect to be without the ball and your goalkeeper to be worked and to have to put bodies on the line.

"When you look at Real's 31 shots and 14 on target, they were lucky if a quarter of them tested [goalkeeper]Kelsey Daugherty.

"Celtic can keep their heads high and hopefully they will dust themselves down and give a better account of themselves against Chelsea.

"The Celtic manager said they were better equipped after the Twente game, and watching them for the 93 minutes I would agree."