Niall J provides an alternative perspective on Celtic’s Dortmund defeat | OneFootball

The post-match calls for some tactical pragmatism, in light of Celtic’s heavy defeat in Dortmund on Tuesday, were as predictable as they were understandable. Yet Celtic may not be best placed to overcompensate just yet…

Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion on October 01, 2024 . (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The 7-1 scoreline was somewhat unfair on Brendan Rodgers side given the German hosts XG was a mere 2.64 from 16 shots (13 on target) on the night compared to Celtic’s 2.24 from 9 shots Borussia

Dortmund vs Celtic live score, H2H and lineups | Sofascore.

Big Chance creation was also close with Dortmund having three and Celtic two, meanwhile in overall possession Celtic were competitive with 47% to Dortmund’s 53%.

So, whilst Celtic certainly coughed up chances and presented opportunities to Dortmund, they were punished far more severely than the stats would indicate was justified – particularly based on the likelihood of conversion of those chances created.

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UEFA Champions League Borussia Dortmund v Celtic Glasgow 01 10 2024 Photo BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Buriakov

Meanwhile Celtic also underperformed slightly in front of goal themselves, and whilst deserving of a loss without a shadow of doubt, the manner of the defeat was arguably more severe than was deserved. It was a sore one that’s for sure but it was also something of a freak outcome, statistically at least.

With that in mind perhaps we’re in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if the tactical approach is to be revisited with too much of a defensive outlook for future games.

It should be remembered Celtic were without Cameron Carter-Vickers on Tuesday night –something of a common occurrence at Champions League level.

It should also be worrying for both Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh that neither were trusted in the absence of Celtic’s best defender, and also bearing in mind the loss of CCV should always be considered a regular possibility. Perhaps a recruitment issue worth addressing in January?

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Meanwhile both full backs, Alastair Johnstone and Greg Taylor, were selected whilst carrying injuries that whilst manageable, were evident. Indeed, both full backs left the action before the end of the game.

Such injury issues are a regular occurrence at any club and many players play whilst carrying knocks, but when they do, they must also be protected. As such, what appeared to be a tactical decision to leave Nicholas Kuhn high and wide, left Johnston hopelessly exposed on occasion, with the benefit of hindsight of course that may have required addressing far sooner than it was.

In central defence Liam Scales performed well, however, partner Auston Trusty was playing a second game as a right sided centre back, despite being utilised as a left sided centre back – or indeed left full back – for the vast majority of his career. That should offer some mitigation when it comes to Trusty’s own performance, that alongside this being only his second 90 minutes in a Celtic shirt.

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Karim Adeyemi celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25  match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 01, 2024 (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

However, it was ahead of the defence where there may well be criticism levelled at the Celtic manager. The space offered to Dortmund’s attack when Celtic were countered on in midfield was evident throughout the game and wasn’t addressed appropriately.

With Paulo Bernardo and Arne Engels playing ahead of Callum McGregor there was little assistance for the Celtic captain in transition and when McGregor is exposed it is logical the defence soon will be too – and so it proved.

Dortmund managed 13 shots on target from 40 touches in the box, meanwhile at the other end Celtic managed only two from 12 touches in the Dortmund penalty area. That highlights a clear protection issue for Celtic’s defence from their midfield colleagues alongside our wingers.

This is something of a depth issue for Brendan Rodgers. There has been a great turnover in the squad, as Celtic moved to a leaner group with an emphasis on quality over quantity and that approach makes sense. However, Celtic no longer have any player whose first choice of position would be as the deepest lying midfielder.

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In the majority of games there is no need for a defensive player in such a position and as such there is little merit in carrying such a player in the squad. However, given there will be eventualities where more protection is required, particularly away from home in Europe’s top competition, there is certainly an argument to be made for Callum McGregor having a partner alongside him.

Perhaps a 4-2-3-1 formation rather than the utilised 4-3-3 is worth consideration. Indeed, it may well be worth considering McGregor and Engels playing alongside one another with Reo Hatate playing the attacking midfield role.

It is perfectly understandable that words like humiliation and embarrassment are being bandied about in light of a thumping scoreline, but when we take stock, we must consider strategic tweaks rather than major changes in tactical philosophy or outright formational alterations.

READ THIS…Celtic’s problem is tactical. And it’s beyond embarrassing. It’s humiliating

Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring his team’s sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 01, 2024. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

After two games Celtic are exactly where we would have expected them to be in the Champions League table, a home win against a debutant and an away defeat to last season’s Champions League finalists. Ten points is the target, we may even get lucky with nine points and qualify for the play-off stage by securing just two more wins.

Young Boys and Club Brugge at Celtic Park would seem the best opportunities and whilst both will be tough encounters, Leipzig at home and Zagreb away must be targeted for the possibility of further points. Atalanta and Aston Villa away are likely to result in defeats but with the caveat there is a chance to learn from the Dortmund errors in those fixtures.

Celtic have had an outstanding pre-season and opening to both the domestic and European season prior to Tuesday’s trip to Dortmund. The players and coaching staff deserve great credit for that start and also deserve some very valid criticism for letting the game get away from them in midweek.

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The Dortmund result itself was harsh on Celtic, yet much has been close to perfect about Celtic’s season to date, other than the outlier result from Tuesday night.

If it is to remain an outlier, how Celtic set-up and perform away from home to top clubs needs to be addressed. However, the answers to those tough questions may require some minor alterations rather than major surgery.

Niall J

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