A fundamental basic and the major Celtic failing in Dortmund

The Celtic Star

·3 October 2024

A fundamental basic and the major Celtic failing in Dortmund

The dust has settled on what was a humiliating 7-1 trouncing in the Westfalenstadion with Celtic’s perfect start to the season ending abruptly. Here’s the second of my three takeaways from my trip to Germany…

UEFA Champions League Borussia Dortmund v Celtic Glasgow 01 10 2024 Photo BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Buriakov

Will someone please put in a successful tackle?

Three of Dortmund’s five first half strikes came from Celtic players unwilling to be disciplined in their shape and do a fundamental basic – tackle.

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Take the first goal where Jamie Gittens runs just outside the centre circle, manoeuvring his way into the box before Schmeichel takes him down. Engels, McGregor, Trusty and Johnston all found wanting. That is unacceptable. The Hoops opponents are good enough technically to find gaps, to give them an added advantage of backing off was painful to watch.

READ THIS…A pragmatic approach urgently needed for Champions League away matches

For Karim Adayemi’s second of the game and the hosts third, Daizen Maeda who is closer to the ball than the German is standoffish in a 60/40 tackle. The result? 3-1 after 29 minutes. Fast forward 10 minutes later, and Celtic’s record signing Arne Engels makes an ill-disciplined decision in the box, not too dissimilar to the penalty Brendan Rodgers’ side received against Slovan Bratislava.

Serhou Guirassy converted from the spot for Dortmund’s fourth. Nothing seemed to change in the second half when Nuri Sahin’s centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck danced past more than a few Celtic players who made little attempt to take the ball off the marauding defender. Guirassy powered home on what became a reoccurring theme.

READ THIS…Dortmund Thrash Celtic 7-1 – But Why?

When analysing the match, Celtic players and coaching staff should acknowledge more must be done to prevent promising attacks. Tackling successfully would be a start. 80% of Dortmund’s 16 shots in the entire game were on target. Damning.

Conor Spence

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