BRANISLAV Ivanovic may have spent the majority of his career in England, but as he spoke in the aftermath of Zenit’s defeat at Celtic Park you got the impression Scotland may as well have been a million miles away.
The former Chelsea full-back, who took in the first leg of the Europa League tie from the bench as he recovers from an eye injury, saw for the first time that the Scottish champions were the real deal. And the Serb was visibly taken aback.
“Celtic were great, I was surprised by them,” said Ivanovic. “They played very well. They were compact, aggressive, a very good team. I thought they were strong and we’ll have to change a lot of things to be on top of the game next week in Russia. They surprised me with a lot of things. I knew the supporters would be behind them, but they were a very dangerous team.
“They played good football and had really good ideas on the pitch. It was a very interesting game and the atmosphere was amazing at Celtic Park.”
Ivanovic is hoping his potential return to the Zenit line-up on Thursday can help inspire the Russians to overcome the one-goal deficit and it was clear there was relief within Roberto Mancini’s squad that the hill they have to climb is not steeper.
“One goal decided the game, but the tie is not over yet,” Ivanovic said. “We have one more week to work and prepare for the next game. It will be in our stadium, in front of our fans, so we’ll be doing everything to try and go through.
“Zenit will probably be a different team next week. At home, we’ll be more confident, and we’ll have had an extra week’s training in Rome.
“Celtic are probably favourites but we still believe. Of course, they have more chance of going through after winning 1-0 at home. But I hope to have permission from the doctor to start the game next week.”
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