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Strachan: Celtic were beaten by the best

22/10/2008

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has admitted his side were beaten by the 'best team in Europe' after their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Bhoys now face a difficult task to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League as they trail top-placed United and Villarreal by six points after half the matches have been played.

But rather than lament the fact that two of the home side's goals last night appeared to be offside, Strachan admitted his team had been "well beaten".

"Over the last couple of years we've played some terrific sides, but that's the best," he said.

"It's one of the best performances I've ever come across in watching European football. You will need to be some team to beat them.

"We'll try our best to give a performance the next time we play. We'll try and make it a decent game of it."

Strachan claimed he could not fault his team for their "guts and determination" against United, but he admitted they were still lacking in terms of firepower and overall skill.

"What we fall down on is being anywhere as good as them at passing the ball," the former United player continued.

"We gave the ball away unnecessarily eight times in the first 15 minutes, which is a problem. I try to mould a team where everybody can pass the ball but that didn't work."