Martin O'Neill spoke of refereeing decisions and near misses after Celtic's Europa League defeat to Celta Vigo, but the performance raises a harder question: is the squad simply not good enough? The numbers point to a team that was busy rather than dominant. Centre-back Liam Scales had by far the most touches of any Celtic player with 121, well ahead of left-back Kieran Tierney (79) and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone (69).
Goalscorer Baur admitted his side did not do enough to win and was at a loss when asked what needs to change. "How we played second half, last 30 minutes, we deserved it in the end," Baur said. When asked if he knew why his team collapsed in such a manner, he responded: "I cannot tell you, sorry."
The problem, as described by the analysis, was not the goal conceded but the reaction to it. After Celta equalised, Celtic failed to regain control, hold the ball, or break the momentum of a good team. They did not get control back, did not break Celta's momentum and ultimately paid the price.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner was blunter on Sportsound. "I don't think Celtic are good enough, individually and collectively, to take on a team that's eighth in La Liga," he said. "They moved the ball really well and Celtic couldn't get close to them." Bonner also questioned the club's spending, noting that Celtic are paying big money for some players because fans demand it, only for those signings to fall short.
Celtic's next European outing comes on 5 November as they host Besiktas, with the chance to reverse their continental woes. Whether they can is another matter.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing