SIGURDSSON AIMS TO TAME EDOUARD
DEFENDER Ragnar Sigurdsson admits FC Copenhagen must find a way to pin down the elusive Odsonne Edouard if they are to knock Celtic out of Europe this week.
The Icelandic stopper admits he found the Frenchman’s skill and movement befuddling during Thursday’s Europa League first-leg tie in the Danish capital.
Within a minute, Edouard found enough space to break clean through on goal in the Parken Stadium and, although he squandered that opportunity, he soon put the Scottish champions in front with an artful left-foot finish.
A sloppy second-half performance by Celtic gave Copenhagen a route back into the tie and they capitalised with an equaliser from former Hull City striker Dame N’Doye.
Experienced Icelandic international Sigurdsson knows the score draw leaves Celtic with an edge going into the Glasgow return, but reckons the Danes could still progress if they can find a way to keep Edouard quiet.
‘Edouard is really talented,’ said Sigurdsson. ‘He is really fast and his football is at a really good level. It’s not only his speed. He is technical too, really good.
‘I could see him going on to England in the future, for sure. There are worse forwards than him playing in the big leagues right now.
‘Early on especially, he gave us a lot of problems and I didn’t really know why.
‘He produced a nice finish for the goal. But we adapted to it and, afterwards, kept him quiet. If we play like we did in the second half, then we can beat Celtic but we will have to keep Edouard quiet.
‘That won’t be easy but we have a chance.’
Although dominant for the first 45 minutes, Celtic were fortunate not to lose in the end, with Fraser Forster’s penalty save from Jens Stage keeping the score level going into the second leg.
Inspired by a forceful half-time message from manager Stale Solbakken, Sigurdsson claims the home performance in that second half is as good as the club has ever produced.
‘It was a great game of football,’ said the former Fulham man. ‘Celtic started really strong and caught us twice before scoring.
‘After that, we kind of matched their running and their power. In the second half, we dominated the game.
‘We created a lot of chances and, although 1-1 was maybe a fair result, we had the chance to finish the tie off.
‘At half-time, the manager told us to get off of our a **** and do something. Which was right, because the first 10, maybe 20 minutes, was not good enough.
‘The players knew that but the coach gave us a good speech at half-time and the second half was fantastic. It was some of the best football I have ever seen from us.
‘Now it is on to Celtic Park and it should be another great contest. A lot of our fans will travel but, obviously, this time the Celtic supporters will be in the majority.
‘I would imagine it will sell out and it should be a great occasion. Plus, hopefully, another great game of football.’