Celtic vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League latest score, goals and updates as Benzema injured

(Action Images via Reuters)

The 2022/23 Champions League group stage begins tonight and Celtic FC face a tough task in welcoming the reigning champions Real Madrid to Scotland.

Currently sitting top of the Premiership with a 100 per cent record and having conceded just a single goal, Ange Postecoglou’s team will nonetheless know they’ll need to be on top of their game to come away with anything against Los Blancos. Celtic couldn’t have had a better warm-up for this clash though than winning the Old Firm derby 4-0 at the weekend, so spirits will be high.

As for Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have started their LaLiga campaign in similarly imperious fashion with four wins from four, edging past Real Betis 2-1 at the weekend. The likes of Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Vinicius Jr are all set to play a key role again this season, though Casemiro is a notable absence from last year’s side after his departure to Manchester United.

Follow build-up and all the action from Celtic vs Real Madrid live below:

Celtic vs Real Madrid LIVE

CEL XI: Hart, Juranovic, Jenz, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate, Jota, Abada, Giakoumakis

RMA XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Alaba, Militao, Mendy, Tchouameni, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vini Jr

28’ – Benzema off through injury, Hazard comes on

Celtic FC 0 – 0 Real Madrid CF

37’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:38 , Karl Matchett

Hatate tries to thread a pass from deep for Abada to run onto but Real clean up without too much fuss. Celtic not getting as many players forward now as we approach the break. Getting to the interval at 0-0 sounds good, but they’ll think they probably should have been in front.

Still plenty of time to go before the whistle, however.

33’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:36 , Karl Matchett

The game a little fragmented in midfield now and not too much penalty-box action for the first time in a while. Vinicius Jr tries to take on the whole defence but Juranovic says no – tremendous slide tackle to steal the ball cleanly.

Story continues

Giakoumakis battles away against Carvajal and Militao, getting a touch on the ball in the area but fouling his man in the process.

28’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:30 , Karl Matchett

Valverde tries to clip in a cross after Modric sets him free, but Jenz is in place to repel the danger.

The Uruguayan then finds space to spin on the edge of the box and crash in a left-footed shot – but it’s wide of Hart’s near post.

That’s Benzema’s game over as he departs with injury. Eden Hazard is coming on in his place.

23’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:28 , Karl Matchett

Real Madrid struggling to find fluidity in their attacking play. Karim Benzema has a problem around his knee area too after stepping awkwardly following a pass. Celtic, on the other hand, have yet to make any of their openings count but some of the link play and combinations in the final third have been exceptional.

19’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:21 , Karl Matchett

Hatate lashes in a volley from outside the box which Courtois has to beat away. Giakoumakis then tees up McGregor for a ferocious hit – and it smacks the inside of the post with the keeper flat-footed! So close to an opener.

15’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:20 , Karl Matchett

Really good work off the ball by Celtic so far and they are playing quickly through the spaces that Real leave in defence, but no end product just yet.

Militao is having a good start to the game and tracking Jota’s runs.

11’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:14 , Karl Matchett

Yellow card for Ferland Mendy for losing out in a relatively tame and normal battle with Giakoumakis. Seemed a bit harsh. End-to-end for a brief moment as Celtic almost open a chance and then Real break, but neither get a clean strike away. Abada then beats the offside trap but a side-footed effort doesn’t trouble Courtois.

7’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:09 , Karl Matchett

Magic pass by Hatate to spread play left and let Jota run at his man, but the eventual ball down the flank is underhit and Real build from deep.

Unusually sloppy in midfield from the Spanish side so far but they are certainly controlling open play with more regularity now over the past few minutes.

3’ – Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:07 , Karl Matchett

Exceptionally fast and furious start by the home side but Real Madrid now just trying to get their foot on the ball for the first time. They will not be fazed by the hosts’ aggressions or atmosphere of course, but an early chance or two for Celtic could make matters interesting.

Kick-off! Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid

20:01 , Karl Matchett

We are underway at Celtic Park! A great atmosphere at the start of the night and the home fans roar their appreciation as Thibaut Courtois is forced into a hurried clearance. Giakoumakis then finds Abada and his shot is turned just wide – almost the perfect start!

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:55 , Karl Matchett

Just five minutes now before we get underway.

Yesterday, Ange Postecoglou was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to downplay Celtic’s chances and that he wanted the fans to be right up for the game – sounds as though he has got his way. Celtic will be looking to cause a massive upset tonight.

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:49 , Karl Matchett

Reminder of tonight’s teams as we approach kick-off. Might be a busy night for Celtic stopper Joe Hart.

Celtic XI: Hart, Juranovic, Jenz, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate, Jota, Abada, Giakoumakis

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Alaba, Militao, Mendy, Tchouameni, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vini Jr

(Getty Images)

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:43 , Karl Matchett

As for Celtic, they have two major additions in terms of transfer fee: Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers, both for around £6m. Alexandro Bernabei, Daizen Maeda and Sead Haksabanovic also arrived for reasonable fees, while free transfer arrivals included Benjamin Siegrist and Aaron Mooy. Christopher Jullien was the only player to leave for a fee this summer, so it is a year of considerable outlay for the Scots.

A couple of Champions League wins would go some way toward proving their business the right course of action to take.

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:36 , Karl Matchett

The summer transfer work at the Santiago Bernabeu was not exactly non-stop, but it was significant.

Casemiro’s departure was a surprise and a notable exit, given how little that midfield has changed over the last half-decade, but Aurelien Tchouameni is more than capable of stepping up into the void – he’s the big arrival and cost around €80m.

On a free transfer also came in Antonio Rudiger, while the only other notable departures were Reinier (loan, Girona), Marcelo, Isco (both released), Gareth Bale (LAFC), Borja Mayoral (Getafe) and Take Kubo (Real Sociedad).

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:30 , Karl Matchett

Players, managers and fans arriving. We’re a little over half an hour away from kick-off still, so not too much activity inside the stadium yet, but this is a game nobody wants to miss. Celtic Park will be absolutely rocking at kick-off.

(PA)

(PA)

(Action Images via Reuters)

(PA)

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:24 , Karl Matchett

Can Real Madrid go on and defend their title once more this season? There’s a long road ahead and of course the mid-season break for the World Cup could disrupt and dictate an awful lot yet in the second half of the campaign.

The group phase is just all about getting the job done inside the six matches and making sure you’re in the knockout draw.

Celtic vs Real Madrid latest

19:17 , Karl Matchett

Season so far for these teams:

Celtic

It’s six wins from six in the Premiership for the league leaders after beating Aberdeen, Ross Co, Kilmarnock, Hearts, Dundee United and at the weekend, Rangers in the Old Firm derby. They’ve also beaten Ross County in the League Cup, too – and only two goals conceded across that run.

Real Madrid

Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol and Real Betis have all been vanquished by LaLiga’s reigning champions, but they’ve also picked up silverware already. Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the Uefa Super Cup at the start of the season.

Champions League group stage latest

19:02 , Karl Matchett

Tonight is the return of the Champions League “proper”, as they say – the group stage starts here.

The early fixtures so far stand at Dinamo 1-0 Chelsea – which you can follow live right here – and Dortmund are leading 2-0 at home to Copenhagen.

Our game, and the rest of tonight’s, starts at 8pm BST.

Champions League group stage excitement at an all-time low as financial disparity widens

18:50 , Karl Matchett

The end of the Champions League group stage can’t come soon enough, because it is impossible not to feel that this season’s will be settled predictably quickly. That is down to much more than the World Cup dictating this penultimate edition of the format, to be changed in 2024, will conclude by the first week of November.

While there are always more surprise results than people expect, most of the super clubs have hugely forgiving paths to their traditional place in the last 16. All of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Liverpool and even Tottenham Hotspur should get through with ease.

Group C – featuring Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Internazionale and Robert Lewandowski’s return to the Allianz – is the only pool that could be described as an old-fashioned “group of death”. It is an old point in itself now to say the competition used to be full of such challenges, but that makes it all the more relevant. It looks like it has never been as bad. Little wonder that the main intrigue around the draw in Istanbul this week has been over the mid-tier clubs pushing to start remedying prize money.

That points to how none of this is the fault of the group stage as a format, but rather the financial disparity that Uefa and this very competition have fostered and overseen.

Even some of the better individual fixtures are attractive precisely because they are predicated on that economic gap, writes Miguel Delaney.

Champions League group stage excitement at all-time low as financial disparity widens

What lies ahead for the six British clubs in this season’s Champions League?

18:45 , Karl Matchett

The Champions League begins this week with six British sides involved in the action.

Celtic host holders Real Madrid in an eye-catching clash on Tuesday, when Manchester City and Chelsea also start their challenges. Liverpool and Rangers – together in the same group – play on Wednesday, as do Tottenham.

Here we look at the form of the sides facing the British teams – with Chelsea already having got their campaign underway in this evening’s early kick-off.

What lies ahead for the six British clubs in this season’s Champions League?

Confirmed line-up for Celtic

18:45 , Karl Matchett

And Celtic’s side is now in place too. Two changes from the weekend victory over Rangers for Ange Postecoglou.

CEL XI: Hart, Juranovic, Jenz, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate, Jota, Abada, Giakoumakis

Celtic and Rangers set to provide sorely needed emotional centre to Champions League group stage

18:40 , Karl Matchett

Over the last few days, Ange Postecoglou has been drilling his players in a typically expansive gameplan, but it has all come with a new electricity. Tuesday night won’t just be a case of Celtic playing their normal game and refusing to change for anybody. It will instead be a night when the unique atmosphere fits with the usual approach, amplifying it, and they will just go with the mood of adventure.

You only have to walk around Glasgow this week to get a sense of what the Champions League is supposed to be about. The city that staged one of the old European Cup’s first truly mythical finals, when Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden Park in 1960, now awaits the return of the 14-time champions with a rare excitement. Across the city, the Rangers players have been playing the Champions League theme on their phones as they head to Ajax, but that’s really all in anticipation of it booming around Ibrox for the visit of Napoli next Tuesday.

This is what the competition is supposed to feel like. One of the Champions League’s first cities, rather appropriately, is this group stage’s emotional centre.

Miguel Delaney previews the opening of the Champions League group stage:

Celtic and Rangers set to provide emotional centre to Champions League group stage

Confirmed line-up for Real Madrid

18:39 , Karl Matchett

The Spanish side have named their team plenty early again as they tend to do in Europe.

RMA XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Alaba, Militao, Mendy, Tchouameni, Modric, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vini Jr

Is Celtic vs Real Madrid on TV tonight? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch

18:35 , Karl Matchett

Celtic return to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in five years on Tuesday night.

Ange Postecoglu’s side have made a stunning start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, winning all six of their games and thrashing rivals Rangers 4-0 at the weekend.

But now they face a whole different task altogether as European champions Real Madrid arrive in Glasgow.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side won the competition last year and have been crown champions of the continent four times out of the last seven seasons.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Is Celtic vs Real Madrid on TV tonight? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch

Celtic vs Real Madrid: Kyogo Furuhashi fit to face European champions

15:00 , Karl Matchett

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is available for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid but Carl Starfelt will miss out.

Japan forward Furuhashi went off five minutes into Celtic’s 4-0 win over Rangers on Saturday after hurting his shoulder in a challenge with John Lundstram.

However, he was back on the training pitch at Lennoxtown on Monday morning and will compete with his replacement on Saturday, Giorgos Giakoumakis, for a place in the starting line-up.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou said: “Kyogo hurt his shoulder and trained this morning. He looked OK so he is available.

“I haven’t made a decision on whether he will play or not but, in terms of him training and doing everything in training, he was fine.”

Starfelt went off with a knee problem early in the second half of Saturday’s derby. Moritz Jenz replaced the Sweden centre-back to make his fifth appearance of the season.

Postecoglou added: “We haven’t had an exact diagnosis. It’s nothing too serious but it will probably keep him out for a couple of weeks.”