Chris Sutton, who said that he believes Oh Hyeon-gyu isn’t the replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi, has pushed Celtic to recruit a striker in January.
When Kyogo and Daizen Maeda started to tire, Sutton felt Celtic didn’t have enough options to replace them in the attack. Even when the La Liga team was reduced to 10 men, it seemed more likely that they would score than the Hoops. The South Korean was left on the bench against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night. Celtic Park was lively during the match, especially in the first half when Brendan Rodgers’ team played exceptionally well.
Although it is not surprising that they couldn’t keep it going for ninety minutes, Sutton believes that having a backup plan in place beforehand would be beneficial. He believes that a player similar to Giorgos Giakoumakis would be ideal, since the Greek striker was instrumental under Ange Postecoglou prior to being traded by Celtic in January.
“Celtic were taking a big step forward in the Champions League,” he wrote in his Daily Record column. Then their lungs failed, and their legs went to jelly. It had even broken Daizen Maeda.
“At that point, it became clear to me exactly where they needed to make improvements and adjustments in order to advance and begin winning some of these games. I apologize for not dancing around the living room, but Celtic played a great game against Atletico Madrid. They lost, and it has now been ten years since they have triumphed in a home game.
“It’s critical to recognize both the things that are doing well and the things that need improvement if you want to make changes and improve
that. Don’t let the good things get in the way. That’s challenging because some of them were quite clear. For instance, the performance in the first half was outstanding. The amazing link-up play and cutting edge to score a goal for Kyogo Furuhashi made for an exciting game of football at times.
Celtic’s fuel went out. Maeda is an amazing runner and plenty of enthusiasm, but even he was exhausted and the home team’s advantage in the game vanished as well. You need to switch up your approach at that point.
“You need an alternative strategy to release some pressure and go up the pitch if you are unable to play through a team anymore due to worn-out legs and lack the bench to provide energy without sacrificing the caliber of your play.
“If someone can hold the ball up or win you a free kick, he can clip a ball 40 yards up the pitch. Pull the enemy back to allow your unit to advance and take a breather. Celtic clearly don’t have that at the moment. Though Oh Hyeon-gyu might have been the right person, Giorgos Giakoumakis could have done it, but he left.
It was obvious the team needed a striker of that caliber; therefore, the fact that he isn’t playing much indicates to me that either he isn’t doing well in training or the management doesn’t think highly of him. It’s not route-one dinosaur stuff, nor is it antiquated or old-school. It’s a worthwhile substitute.
“You need a backup plan if you are unable to pass your way out because, in any Champions League match, you will inevitably encounter a period of intense pressure. For a large portion of the second half against Atletico, Celtic was unable to leave their own half, and when that occurs, you almost certainly end up conceding.
“Considering the adjustments Rodgers made in response to Diego Simeone’s modifications, Kyogo and Maeda were leading after an hour, but they were unable to maintain their position. It is not their game to play with their back to the goal.
“Oh needs to catch up, or this could continue since the manager is unable to purchase a player for the final three group matches. I think they need to make that little change and adjustment.
It’s peculiar. In my opinion, Atletico was still more likely to score than Celtic, even after going down to 10 men in the last ten minutes.
