Celtic midfielder becomes second Irish player to make Champions League debut this season

Former Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy, who last appeared for the Boys in Green in 2020, has joined Spurs' Matt Doherty in making his UEFA Champions League debut this campaign.

The 31-year-old came on as a second half substitute for Celtic in a 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday evening.

The result leaves the Hoops at the foot of their group which also includes Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Republic of Ireland wing-back Doherty, who made his Champions League debut against Marseille last month, was an unused Spurs sub in Tuesday's 0-0 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte claimed that he was "not seeing him [Doherty] in the right way to start the game," and followed up by adding "I'm not stupid, I don't want to lose."

The bleak comments doesn't look optimistic for the 30-year-old who has struggled to break into Conte's team since his return from injury.