Jozo has nothing to apologise for.. I’m to blame for missing a shot at glory
Elyounoussi says first-half miss cost Celts
MO ELYOUNOUSSI insists the blame-game for Celtic’s Europa League implosion against Copenhagen should start with him.
The finger-pointing after crashing out to the Danes has placed Jozo Simunovic front and centre after a defensive calamity allowed Michael Santos to open the scoring. An eventual 4-2 aggregate defeat has Hoops fans rounding on the Croat for the short passback that sent the visitors on their way but Elyounoussi insists responsibility for the exit should be shouldered by everyone. And he’s the first to put his hand up and apologise for missing a first-half sitter. He said: “Jozo has nothing to apologise for. We win as a team and we lose as a team. “I should have scored right in front of goal, so I should say sorry. He has nothing to be sorry for. I’m sure he will think about it a little bit but he will get rid of it and focus on the next one. “It gave them a boost when they scored but as I said, we should have kept our composure and scored more than just one. It shouldn’t really have mattered when they scored that goal.” Celtic will now be forced to lick their wounds and regroup for tomorrow’s Scottish Cup trip to St Johnstone as they attempt to steer themselves back on track for the domestic demands as they eye up another treble.
Elyounoussi believes the failure to bury a host of chances against Copenhagen proved crucial.
But he’s convinced tomorrow’s clash in Perth is the perfect opportunity to get Europe out of their system and make amends by sweeping the board domestically this season.
Elyounoussi said: “We are disappointed for the fans and everyone who loves this club that we could not provide the win everyone wanted.
“It would have been our night if we had scored more than one goal and we should have done.
“Now all we can do is focus on the league and the Scottish Cup.
“We wanted to go further in Europe and we had a good opportunity but we didn’t take it.
“We felt that frustration on Thursday night but we have to let it go now and prepare for the quarter-final on Sunday.
“Winning the Treble would make up for this defeat. Hopefully, we will take our frustration out on St Johnstone and go on to win the other two trophies.
“We’re hungrier than ever now and we will use the defeat by Copenhagen as motivation for the rest of this season so we can give something back to the fans.”
An analysis of Celtic’s shock loss to the Danes shows Neil Lennon is correct to state his side were dominant and deserved better but Elyounoussi admits the lack of cutting edge, bad luck and being exposed on the break proved decisive.
He said: “I thought we dominated and we created chances which we should have taken – I should have scored,
definitely. We were so close but it wasn’t enough. They defended very well, they were organised and they hurt us with their counterattacks.
“We still wanted to attack and be on the front foot and going for the goal.
“We knew they had to score the first goal but we wanted to go for the win for our fans so we kept attacking and attacking.
“We were just unlucky in front of goal. It didn’t quite work out in the last third with the last shot or pass.
“The first half was good, we started the second half okay but when they got the goal it gave them a boost.
“We should have had more composure after they scored, because we are the better team.
“If we had kept our composure as we did in the first half and kept trying to find the gaps, we would have created more chances.”
The Norwegian international was a surprise inclusion against the Danes as Lennon tinkered with his formation and after a stop-start campaign with a four month injury lay-off, the on-loan Southampton wide man is desperate to show his worth in the weeks ahead.
Elyounoussi also pledged to use the bitter experience of the Europa League exit as the motivation to make sure it becomes a blip on a campaign that looks set to deliver more silverware.
He said: “I want to make an impact. Everyone wants to play. I was thrown into it against Copenhagen and did okay, especially in the first half. We had chances and I should have scored, so I’m very disappointed with that.
“I always want to play and help the team win games, so I’m disappointed I couldn’t help the side on Thursday.
“I should have taken more responsibility, especially in front of goal – but that gives me even more motivation for the games coming up. That makes me hungrier than ever.”
It would’ve been our night if we’d scored more than one goal and we should have
MO ELYOUNOUSSI