‘The most intense I have ever felt’ - Shakhtar Donetsk boss Igor Jovicevic hails ‘unprecedented’ Parkhead atmosphere

Shakhtar Donetsk manager Igor Jovicevic reckons the atmosphere generated by Celtic fans at Parkhead on Tuesday night was the same as a crowd of 120,000 he once played in front of.

The Ukrainian champions earned a 1-1 draw against Ange Postecoglou’s side, which ended the Hoops participation in Europe this season as their opponents secured, at least, a third place finish in Group F and will enter the Europa League knockout stage.

It was the second time both sides have shared the spoils in a miserable campaign which has yielded just two points for the Glasgow giants, who now face a dead-rubber clash against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu next week.

A jubilant Jovicevic was full of praise for the reaction of the home supporters towards his team and the Croatian likened the atmosphere inside the stadium to the intense noise when he made his debut for Real Madrid in a friendly in Portugal against Benfica.

The visiting boss said: “Our young team did not give up in the incredible atmosphere at Celtic which was the most intense I have ever felt as a manager. It was the same noise as when I made my debut for Real Madrid, I played a friendly match against Benifca in front of 120,000.

“There really was an unprecedented atmosphere in Glasgow, we couldn’t hear each other on the bench because of the noise. You rarely see such fanticism of fans these days. We are really a very young team, we have no experience when it comes to playing in such circumstances and we reduced Celtic to two chances.

“They score five or six goals every week in the Scottish Premiership and they have had their best team in the last twenty years. We could have won, but the point is phenomenal because it secured the Europa League in the spring.

“I have to say how good it was when we managed to calm down the Celtic fans with our game in Glasgow. It was a great feeling when we were keeping possession of the ball, and when we scored a goal, everything turned into silence, which gave us additional motivation - we all felt ‘that’s it.’

“At the end of the game, the Celtic fans applauded us off the pitch. You know what the Scots are like - good, honest fans. It was a really great gesture.”