Greg Taylor feels weight of Celtic and Atletico history but he's focused on making it for RIGHT reasons this time

Greg Taylor knows the history against Atletico Madrid.

But he wants Celtic to create some of their own for the right reasons against a club that booted his predecessors off the Parkhead pitch nearly half a century ago. The left-back’s face lights up at the prospect of facing one of Europe’s elite clubs in the continent’s top tournament, even if he got a front-row view of two of Atletico’s star turns over the last fortnight and saw for himself just how devastating Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann can be.

The skill, grace and movement of that pair is a world away from the thuggery that visited Celtic Park in the 1974 European Cup semi-final when Atleti ended up with eight men and a 0-0 draw that paved the way to the final for the Spaniards. The current Madrid outfit will give a nod to that team by wearing an almost identical kit tonight but Taylor really isn’t that bothered. The Hoops defender is more interested in making the 90 minutes memorable for a completely different reason.

“I’ve no opinion to be fair (on them wearing the shirts),” he said. “We’ll just focus on us. But I’ve heard (about the 1974 clash). I’ve been made aware it was a right encounter. One of the Spanish journalists said that Atletico are wearing shirts to commemorate that game.

“I think it was quite an iconic game for the cards and the tackles, etc. Hopefully it’s an iconic game tomorrow night but not for those reasons – for a win for us.”

Having lost to Feyenoord and Lazio in their first two games in the group, there’s no room for error if Celtic are to have any chance of progressing. And Taylor knows all about the quality Atletico possess at the top end of the pitch, coupled with an uncompromising attitude to keeping the ball out of their own