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Fran Alonso hails 'amazing' Celtic after Covid-19 scare gave him sleepness night
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Fran Alonso hails 'amazing' Celtic after Covid-19 scare gave him sleepness night

Celtic reach the Champions League despite seven players being forced to self-isolate

Fran Alonso admitted he suffered a sleepness night after Covid-19 threatened to ruin Celtic’s Champions League chances.

Seven members of the squad were forced to self-isolate after one player tested positive for coronavirus.

However, his side hammered Motherwell 8-0 at the Penny Cars Stadium to clinch second place and a spot in the qualifiers next season.

“We got a positive case,” Alonso explained to Anyone’s Game. “Because seven of the girls live in the same area, with track and trace they have to isolate now for 10 days. Four of these girls were in the starting 11, so we had to change the squad and starting 11. That’s why I struggled to sleep last night!

“I spoke to the captain, the leaders of the group, and said they have to take extra responsibility and I think they did that. And the young players, they looked like they had been playing for 10 years.”

Kate Nicolson, Sara Ewens, Anna Filbey twice, Chloe Craig, London Pollard, Kelly Clark and Lisa Robertson scored as Celtic finished five points ahead of third-place Rangers to spark celebrations from the Parkhead side at full-time.

They ultimately fell three points short of Glasgow City in their bid to wrestle the SWPL 1 crown away from Scott Booth’s side, however that could not dampen the mood in Airdrie.

“It’s very hard to achieve this and we’ve done it, it feels amazing,” said the Spaniard. “We are fighting against a huge, huge budget and huge history. And a huge budget as well apart from the history. And we managed to get this second spot and also a few points ahead.

“I’m very proud. We have fought, we never gave up, so it feels so good.”

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