Fortune favours the brave
With the Barcelona debacle now forgotten, Erik Sviatchenko believes Celtic can build on their impressive display against Manchester City, hears Graeme Macpherson
CELTIC’S Champions League involvement this season has progressed from the ridiculous to the sublime. Humbled by Barcelona on matchday one, they exceeded all expectations in their first home outing of the group stage by claiming a well-merited draw with Manchester City. The hope now is that they play more like they did against the latter over the remainder of the campaign.
Erik Sviatchenko wishes the catastrophe in the Camp Nou could be erased from the record books, but the 7-0 loss will stand forever as a reminder of what the greats of the game can achieve when firing on all cylinders. A further three goals conceded to City in midweek was additional proof that, defensively, there is still work to be done at Celtic.
There was little gloom in the sodden air around Parkhead on Wednesday, however. A 3-3 draw with Europe’s in-form side helped restore a degree of pride following that thrashing in Barcelona and served notice that Celtic are in Group C to compete rather than just merely take part. The forthcoming home-and-away doubleheader against Borussia Monchengladbach – the first game is at Celtic Park on October 19 – could well be pivotal.
“Our Champions League campaign started in this game,” Sviatchenko said. “So I will try to forget the seven goals we conceded against Barcelona and move on. I know we have conceded a lot of goals in the Champions League. But again it’s all about the points, isn’t it? We got the point against City and we’re getting closer to what we need to do. We have a lot of games to go in this tournament and we’ll try to get the clean sheets we want. But that game wasn’t about that. It was about the performance, how we work together and that is what we showed against City.
“You saw them kicking the ball out of the pitch all the time. I think it is credit to our team that we created that stress factor on City. This sets us up for Monchengladbach. We will try to have the same mindset as we had against City and will look forward to that.”
Scottish teams have punched above their weight in Europe before, but rarely like this. Rather than simply putting in a dogged defensive display, Celtic elected to take City on at their own attacking, progressive game. It was a bold strategy by manager Brendan Rodgers, one that required his players to be brave on the ball and not be cowed by superior opposition. Despite surrendering the lead three times, it was a strategy that could be considered largely a success.
“I think it shows what this team is all about,” Sviatchenko said. “It’s about pushing the bar – leaping the crossbar as the gaffer says to us. It’s always about that step towards being a better player, being a better collective. Against City, we showed it.
“We were ruthless in the manner in which we adapted to the game even though we knew it would be difficult. We kept on going and showed we can stretch and be dominant on home turf. We need to keep on working and be relentless in the domestic league and also show our skills in the Champions League.
“Sometimes passing the ball even in trouble can add to the workload but, again, as the manager says, it’s about that braveness. If you just put your head down and clear the ball away you won’t become better. Sometimes it will cost a goal or two and we will take that even though obviously as a defender you want to concede as few goals as possible.”
Chatter about “the fans being the 12th man” is often exaggerated but not on Wednesday night when Celtic Park created a din not heard around these parts for quite some time. In only his second Champions League appearance, Sviatchenko could not help but be moved by the experience.
“The atmosphere was special,” he said. “Especially when the Champions League song came on, the small mascot I was with looked at me and smiled. I smiled back because he was so happy. He emphasised the feeling the entire stadium showed. They carried us towards that one point in the end, even though we wanted three.
“These were the nights I thought about when I heard about Celtic’s interest in signing me. But the most important thing was the plan with me that Celtic had.
“Now it’s all about relishing some really good games in the Champions League. I want to improve as a footballer and the only way you can improve is to be matched at the highest level. I thought I did OK against City.”
Celtic again relied on the impressive Moussa Dembele, whose two goals took him to 12 for the season. Even in training, Sviatchenko revealed, the Frenchman is hard to stop.
“Moussa could become a really, really good player,” the Dane added. “He is a good player already but he’s not the complete article yet. He still has things to improve on. But he works hard. He’s always improving his finishes after training and you see it pays off.
“He’s dominant with the head. He’s where he needs to be in the box. For a defender, his physicality and his speed make him a nightmare. You can see he can outrun players as well. And he links better and better with the team. It’s just about time regarding him becoming even better.”