Celtic lost a type of goal for the first time in two years | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers suggested that during his side’s 5-1 defeat to Ajax last Thursday, Celtic lost a type of goal for the first time in two years…

Aaron Bouwman of Ajax celebrates his goal with his team-mates during the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Scottish champions suffered their heaviest pre-season loss in a 5-1 thrashing by the Dutch giants, but bounced back with a penalty shoot-out win against Al-Ahli to secure third place in the Como Cup.

This came after impressive wins against similarly matched sides like Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle, though conceding five goals versus last season’s Eredivisie runners-up remained a key area of concern for the Celtic boss.

Rodgers explained the minor mistake that led to one of the goals, noting that his team starts with a man-to-man setup on goal kicks before transitioning into a zonal formation. For Ajax’s third goal however, Rodgers’ side remained in the man-to-man setup longer than they should have.

COMO , 24-07-2025 , Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia , season 2025 / 2026 , Como Cup football , match between Ajax and Celtic , Brendan Rodgers Head coach of Celtic and John Heitinga Head Coach of Ajax. Ajax v Celtic friendly. Photo IMAGO

Speaking to Celtic TV, the Irishman said: “What we tend to do is we will, in some games, go in a static position from a goal kick, man-to-man. But while we are in the game, we will then go more to a zonal. We made a little mistake in the last game, where we stayed in our man-to-man for too long, which opened up a little bit too much space, especially towards the end of the game.”

Rodgers added: “We lost a game in our build-up phase, the third goal, which I said to the players, ‘listen, that’s the first goal we have conceded in build-up in over two years that I have been here, so to do that with the risk we put in the game to play our football, it’s really good, so let us learn from it.’

“It isn’t a structural thing. It’s about positioning, getting there early, and we will be fine.”

With pre-season games now complete, the Hoops can gear up for Sunday’s league opener against St Mirren at Celtic Park. And Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to Sky Sports, as reported on The Celtic Star this lunchtime.

Conor Spence

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