Notable Rangers incidents that might be crucial to understanding Celtic’s Champions League strategy revealed.
The Old Firm derby victory indicated that the Celts will need to slow down in Scotland, but it also suggested possible developments in Europe.
It was the unachievable objective. But on Sunday, it had such significance, and it might be a sign of things to come for Celtic.
It makes sense that Brendan Rodgers spoke inadvertently about Kyogo’s rejected strike against the Rangers after the game, as if it had not been thrown out. The head coach of the Hoops made reference to it twice, alluding to Kaizen Maeda’s “second” goal and Kyogo’s “second” goal that he passed past Jack Butland.
Even though the 10-minute opening was wiped out by the VAR crew using a microscope, it turned out to be a pivotal point in the game. Additionally, it might
When they saw the Hoops could cut through them with a few well-placed passes, forcing a few early offside chances was no longer going to cut it. Rangers realised at that very time that their tea was running low. The remainder of the match proceeded as any other domestic match for Celts in Scotland.
Although the opponents’ jerseys may have had a recognisable logo, it might just as easily have been the badges of St Johnstone, Ross County, or any other team. It was almost disrespectful of Rodgers to take advantage of the last thirty minutes to give some of his new acquisitions a taste.
But what was clear in the clash was the Celtic manager was not just operating on a single level. Rodgers never shows any mercy against his fierce foes and none was offered again at the weeke
And you would never accuse the Irishman of experimenting in a fixture than is sometimes only a red card or a penalty kick away from flipping on its axis. Yet there were signals that Rodgers treated the – allegedly – toughest encounter domestically as a dry run for Europe.
When they head to continental business in a few weeks, he’ll want to see exactly the kind of dizzying counterattack that was demonstrated in the disallowed goal. After that, Clement and Graeme Souness gripped the possession data like a security blanket, with Celtic winning that particularly meaningless match by a narrow margin of 53 percent to 47.
However, the point was overlooked. Rangers occasionally had the ball thanks to Celtic. They did not press as high as they normally may have in the pitch. They gave the Rangers defence room to manoeuvre before jumping in to attack the midfield.
Celtic sat a little deeper at times, to allow more space in the Gers half to exploit to devastating effect. They allowed the Rangers holding midfielders to try to man mark Reo Hatate and Paolo Bernardo – and used Kyogo to drop deep into the hold they left or Callum McGregor to step into it.
The fact it worked so well was undoubtedly down to Rangers not reading it, but it’s a ploy that can be used when Celtic move up the levels for the Champions League. It’s clear, that is where it is really going to matter for Celts this season. They are not going to be stopped on the home front, that’s for sure.
Rodgers should dig out his 2016 set of targets for his side, when he challenged his squad to go through the campaign unbeaten, hit 100 points and score 100 goals, and use that to keep the home fires burning. Europe HAS to be the real barometer instead.
Let’s face it, the Hoops could not have dug out a better Champions League set of fixtures without heated balls in the bowl. Yes, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and Aston Villa away will be brutally tough, and not many will stick their hard earned on Celtic victories.
These games at home, though, are perfect. It’s important to give Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, and Young Boys credit. In previous years, worse teams have visited Parkhead and humiliated Celtic.
However, they are not Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, PSG, Liverpool, or Arsenal. Not even Monaco, Feyenoord, or Benfica are like them. These are chances.That doesn’t mean Celtic can afford to try to compete on an equal footing with the rivals. That kind of play has been tried by Ange Postecoglou, but it is too chaotic for the Champions League. Even while there might be a brief happy moment, the danger of the chaos on the other end is just too great. Celtic people must
within control.
Additionally, a portion of Sunday implied that they might be able to accomplish so due to the power of labour completed in the background. During the summer, it was clear in America during the matches versus Chelsea and Man City.
They may sit deeper, give the ball to teams, and let players like Bernardo and recently signed Arne Engels play in more disciplined roles. Additionally
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