Atrás
Celtic’s starting XI against Beşiktaş in the Europa League came as a surprise to many supporters, and not for the right reasons.
Martin O’Neill rang the changes, including starting Sebastian Tounekti, Kasper Hogh, James Forrest, and Jordan Lotomba against the Turkish giants.
TalkingPoints
Celtic BEAT Besiktas 3-2 to pick up their first win in the Europa League! What is your immediate reaction to that? 🤩 WHAT A ROLLERCOASTER!
Sam Johnstone didn’t have to do much in the first half, even though Celtic were so poor and their opponents had most of the ball.
The on-loan Celtic player saved Junior Olaitan’s penalty, but he was unlucky that it spun in the air, only for the rebound to go in.
Perhaps you could question whether Johnstone could have been quicker to get down to his right and stop Orkun Kökçü’s stunning long-range effort.
A first start for Jordan Lotomba following his summer transfer from Feyenoord. He was up against some serious quality in Leandro Trossard.
Lotomba was doing a good job right up until he gave away a very daft, needless and reckless penalty, and it helped Beşiktaş open the scoring.
He made a great run after giving away the penalty, with nothing coming from it. If it wasn’t for the penalty, there would be not many issues with Lotomba’s game, but his low rating is because of that foul in the penalty box.
Cameron Carter-Vickers had a horror show against Falkirk, and some questioned whether he would start against Beşiktaş, with O’Neill sticking with his senior defender.
From a defensive aspect, Carter-Vickers had a stronger game this time around, but he had to go off in the second half because of an injury.
On the ball, Liam Scales simply isn’t good enough, and time and time again, he puts himself and his Celtic teammates into trouble.
Defending his box, there isn’t much wrong, but on the ball, he is a liability, and it was proven once again here.
In recent times, Kieran Tierney hasn’t looked like himself. It’s not a case of the left-back doing much wrong; it’s just a case of that aggression and attacking quality missing from his game.
Like many of his teammates, Callum McGregor was sloppy in the middle of the park and didn’t make enough impact with it. Got better in the second half.
There is a very good player here; Mika Baur just needs the right player and a functioning team beside him. The manner in which he senses danger and wins the ball back is impressive. A strong game from the German.
It’s the norm for Benjamin Nygren not to get involved or be pretty quiet outside of the penalty box. That was the case here.
The only problem is that every time you seemed to hear from Nygren, he was either slipping over or giving the ball away. Honking of the highest order!
Oh, what more to say about Sebastian Tounekti?! A broken player in a broken team. This simply isn’t working.
The fact that Callum Osmand scored within seconds of replacing him and made an immediate impact summed it all up. It won’t be a surprise if Tounekti leaves in January.
Another day. Another game without a goal for Kasper Hogh. You can’t fault Hogh for trying, but this holding-up-the-ball nonsense isn’t for him.
He is really struggling, and it proved whenever he got the ball or whenever he was in front of goal, and the latter didn’t happen very much.
This isn’t the James Forrest of old, yet from the starting players, he was the better one, even if he wasn’t at his most impactful. Celtic’s most-decorated player was subbed off just before the hour mark.