After Celtic’s 5-0 win in the first leg, they went into the second leg against Astana in the Champions League Playoff round with little worries.
However, the game didn’t go all to plan as they lost 4-3 on the night to claim an 8-4 aggregate win in the end. Here are three thoughts from the match:
Sloppy defending costs Hoops the match
All four goals that FC Astana scored on the night could have been prevented. They were not, though, and that will almost surely bring worry as they now get ready for the group stages. Prior to this match, just one goal had been conceded all season.
Now they have given away four in one match. Of course, it could be a one-time thing due to the side knowing they were going through. But the manner in which the goals were allowed was very sloppy and careless, allowing runners to get in behind and in between without proper communication. This doesn’t bode well when the likes of Barcelona, PSG, and Bayern could be looming.
Sinclair scores another beauty
Scott Sinclair continued what has been torrid form since joining Celtic with a customary brilliant curling goal. After being rested at the weekend from the action, he was fresh and ready to go- in spite of his defence not being nearly as ready.
His goal, an equalizer to make it 1-1, at the time, saw him find space out wide all to his own before cutting in. After getting inside the box, he faded the ball around a defender and into the back of the net, showing who the go-to man truly is.
Brown might just be past it
One of the goals that was given up was due to a poor mistake from midfielder Scott Brown. The veteran Scot headed the ball the wrong way, allowing the Kazakh side in on goal. They’d make no mistake there. While this is obviously just a mistake, and it could happen to anyone, it’s still going to cause concerns.
Against the bigger clubs mentioned above, those mistakes are going to count double. To get results in the group, they’ll have to be perfect when defending, and at his advancing age that could prove tough for them to grasp.
