REALITY BITES FOR CELTIC
Scots taught lesson at the highest level by Borussia
LOUDER than any of the roars inside Celtic Park was the sound of reality hitting home. A firm reminder that, for all of the heightened expectations, the Champions League remains an utterly unforgiving arena.
Borussia Monchengladbach may lack the headline superstars of the Manchester City side dragged all the way to a breathless 3-3 draw here last month. But they retain an overall spread of quality that can still seem otherworldly to clubs submerged within the limitations of Scottish football.
That was displayed here to allow them membership to a very select society. The Germans became just the third outfit in 15 years, following aristocrats Barcelona (twice) and AC Milan, to record a groupstage victory in Glasgow’s east end.
For Brendan Rodgers and his players, the consequences are diminishing hope of European football beyond Christmas.
They will have to record a victory in the November return in western Germany to regain genuine belief of that outcome.
Unfortunately, Borussia can point towards a fortress of their own, rarely losing on home turf since the appointment of Andre Schubert. For Celtic to buck a formidable trend, they will have to summon a maximum effectiveness that always seemed out of reach here.
Boundless energy was expended, but control and composure was with the Germans. Second-half goals from Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn, with Kolo Toure culpable at both, provided an accurate reflection of the balance of play.
The first half pulled the home fans’ nerves as taut as a guitar string. With play often stretched, too much so in terms of Celtic’s defending, relief was found in reaching the interval without a breakthrough arriving in favour of Borussia.
In Raffael and Thorgan Hazard, the Germans were missing a couple of key attacking influences. Perhaps that was reflected in some of their finishing but, overall, they have the squad to cope.
A £25million summer spend, after banking £30m from Arsenal for the sale of Granit Xhaka, has blessed coach Schubert with options.
Those he picked were quick to show their means. Borussia’s buildup play was every bit as slick as one might expect from one of the Bundesliga’s leading outfits.
Thankfully for Rodgers in the first half, Craig Gordon came up with the answers. His little collection of solid saves was key to ensuring parity come the break.
The pick came after 17 minutes. Borussia utterly exposed the Parkhead backline with a break down the right before the ball switched left to Oscar Wendt.
Fellow Swede Mikael Lustig was left trying to stem the tide but Wendt quickly shifted the ball inside to Hahn, who in turn set up Ibrahima Traore. The winger thought he had carefully picked his spot with a low, curling strike. Gordon, though, stretched out a hand to block impressively.
The goalkeeper had to react smartly again when Jonas Hofmann was played in through the inside-right channel. His powerful, angled drive was convincingly beaten out.
A loose header from Nir Bitton then created the next alarm. Borussia captain Stindl, effective in midfield alongside Christoph Kramer, found Hahn but Gordon was equal to the rising shot. Celtic were left gasping for air.
The match had swiftly moved from end to end before Schubert’s team found their rhythm.
That quality remained elusive for Celtic. They found fluency only in little fits and starts. Turning possession into something threatening was proving a chore.
One free-kick from Bitton forced Yann Sommer to shovel wide and concede a corner. Scott Sinclair’s resulting delivery caused an element of panic before the Germans scrambled clear.
Celtic’s most promising moment of the opening period came just a minute before its end. Rogic produced a delightful pass to find Sinclair haring into the area from the left. Such a regular scorer since moving from Aston Villa, composure deserted him on this occasion. His shot high over the bar left Moussa Dembele questioning why the former Aston Villa man hadn’t opted for a cross.
It was difficult to conceive Celtic surviving another 45 minutes of the same ilk.
Lustig sought to do something about it, advancing on the right to cross for Sinclair. Yet there was neither sufficient power nor direction in the winger’s header.
Another combination between Sinclair and Dembele almost came off, but the pendulum soon shifted. Tobias Strobl worried Gordon with a whipped effort from distance before Borussia secured a merited lead in the 57th minute.
Given all that had gone before, there was deeper frustration in it being largely self-inflicted.
Toure attempted to shepherd the ball over the bye-line but didn’t see it through.
Hahn slid in to hook the ball backwards and Stindl reacted first to drill a low finish through Gordon’s legs from an acute angle.
The pocket of travelling fans in one corner of Celtic Park had been making a racket since kick-off. Now they reacted ecstatically.
Only a terrific last-man challenge from Erik Sviatchenko on Hahn prevented further scenes of jubilation. But the volume wasn’t turned down for long.
With 13 minutes remaining, Stindl dispossessed Toure to give Hahn a run at goal. The Ivorian centre-back battled in vain to recover ground before Hahn rifled a shot beyond Gordon.