Celtic’s loss to Feyenoord has opened up a whole manner of discussion points. None more so than the Dutch champions’ opening goal.
TBR Celtic discussed last night how John Hartson believed that the wall was to blame for the loss of the goal at the free-kick.
But Martin O’Neill has gone further. The former Celtic manager points the finger at a glaring error in the wall that he says should never have been allowed to happen.
O’Neill said [TNT Sports], “Kyogo moves out of the way. He goes sideways. But I have to say this, he should not be in that position in the wall. He’s the smallest player on the pitch for a start. Secondly, he’s on the most important position. He’s on the most important position on the wall.
“He should not be in that position there for a start. They should have the tallest men on the pitch there for a start.
“I don’t think Joe Hart has done that fantastically well. In mitigation for me, I think he’s seen it a little bit late.
“But Kyogo, I know he turns away from it but what I’m saying is he should not be in that position there when lining up that wall for a left-footed free kick.”
And O’Neill is bang on the money. Why Kyogo wasn’t further up the pitch to latch onto any potential clearances is beyond me. Having one of the smallest people on the pitch in the wall to defend a free kick is totally inexcusable.
But it is these fine margins that make all the difference at the top level and Celtic will learn from this.
Up until that point, Celtic were comfortable and well in the game. They didn’t deserve to go in at half-time trailing.
The one positive the Hoops can take from the first-half performance is that they showed they can more than hold their own against the Dutch champions.
If they can replicate that performance in the return fixture at Celtic Park with 60,000 fans behind them, Brendan Rodgers will be confident of securing a win that could determine their European destiny in the final group game in December.
In other news, ‘Shocking’: Neil Lennon absolutely furious after what happened in the Celtic vs Feyenoord game last night