TOOTHLESS!
Seven days after the ‘perfect’ performance, Celtic crash out with a whimper
BRENDAN RODGERS last night accused his Celtic side of lacking ‘belief and courage’ as they tumbled out of the Europa League at the hands of Zenit St Petersburg.
Leading through Callum McGregor’s goal from the first leg in Glasgow, Celtic allowed the returning Branislav Ivanovic to square the tie
with an early unchallenged header and rarely looked like finding a route back into the Europa League contest thereafter.
Daler Kuzyaev claimed a preventable second goal after poor goalkeeping from Dorus de Vries before the break and Aleksandr Kokorin confirmed Celtic’s first defeat in Russia and the end of the road in Europe this season just after the hour mark.
After causing Zenit all manner of problems in a first leg Rodgers had described as the ‘perfect game’, Celtic rarely threatened over the course of the night with the Northern Irishman later admitting they had lacked the required character to progress.
‘Defensively we lacked aggression, particularly in the first half,’ he said. ‘We didn’t close the space down quick enough. We talk about defending forward and we just didn’t defend forward well enough. We conceded poor goals from that.
‘The corner is one that can happen, we were blocked off, they worked it well and found the space. Branislav is outstanding in the air.
‘The second goal, we didn’t engage quickly enough from the throw-in. We’re too deep and have to press the guy who was shooting.
‘But at 2-0, we still have an opportunity in the game. Everything was too sideways and backwards. That’s about bravery and having that courage to play.
‘With so many young players in the team, you see the contrast from last week. We started the second half okay but, again, we concede possession too cheaply and they work the ball round for a cross. We should never concede that type of goal.
‘We were much better than them in the first leg. If we played with a little bit more courage and belief tonight, we could maybe have got a result.’
Claiming the Europa League place from a group containing Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht, the Parkhead victory against the Russians raised hopes that Celtic were capable of making a major impact in the continent’s secondary competition.
Despite being keen to accentuate the positives of a campaign that began against Linfield last July, Rodgers conceded that his side was still very much a work in progress at that level.
‘There is still an awful lot of work for us to do,’ he stated. ‘When I take a step back, there have been a lot of positives for us in Europe this season. We have played very well in some games, shown some great qualities.
‘Of course we are up against the best of the best. So there is a lot of learning taking place. It’s about consistency, really.
‘Last week was an outstanding performance which would allow you to think you had a great opportunity to go through but if you don’t start with that aggressive mentality, then it’s really difficult.
‘Over the course of both competitions in Europe, there have been aspects which pleased me. We are taking steps forward with a lot of young players.
‘We now have to finish out the domestic campaign as strongly as we can and create another piece of history on that front. We then need to look to take another step forward in Europe.’
Despite enjoying large periods of the game with the ball, the Russian goal was not under threat until Olivier Ntcham had a routine shot saved on 66 minutes.
And Rodgers warned: ‘The possession is no good on its own. You have to penetrate and have that creativity. We didn’t have enough quality control to play forward in the first half.
‘When they get to 3-0, they can control the game more without the ball.
‘We didn’t threaten at all in the first half because we were too negative in our play. The second half was a little better but you have to defend better and the third goal was a very disappointing goal to concede.
‘We played so well in the first game and tonight the idea was to start off similar, to try to defend well and create opportunities.’
Rodgers stood by the side which emerged victorious from the first leg, with Charly Musonda and Scott Sinclair having to make do with cameo roles from the bench.
Adamant he selected the right side for the return, Rodgers added: ‘When it didn’t happen, we made the changes. It’s sometimes easy to play when you are 3-0 down. Scott and Charly showed qualities when they came on.’
Asked what was ultimately the difference between Zenit’s display in Glasgow and on their home pitch, Rodgers cited the threat of the returning Ivanovic as being the major factor
‘Branislav’s experience was very important,’ he said. ‘He gives the rest of the players confidence. I’ve always liked (Leandro) Paredes, he is a great talent and always wants to take the ball.
‘(Aleksandr) Kokorin is highly thought of, you can see his movement and touch.’
Zenit manager Roberto Mancini believes his side were deserving of a place in the last 16.
‘We deserved to win,’ said the Italian. ‘We played a very good game. Celtic are a strong team but we played very, very well.
‘Celtic’s tempo in Glasgow was very difficult for us. Tonight we scored three goals, had other chances and for 75 minutes didn’t concede any chances to Celtic.’