Mixed feelings as underperforming Celtic claim point against Club Brugge

The Celtic Star

·28 novembre 2024

Mixed feelings as underperforming Celtic claim point against Club Brugge

I was left with a strange feeling after watching last night’s Champions League tie against Club Brugge…

Cameron Carter-Vickers appears dejected after scoring Club Brugge KV’s goal with an own goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Usually after a draw you are either left feeling proud of getting such a result, such as Atalanta last month, or you are left frustrated that Celtic couldn’t claim all three points. Tonight however I’m not really sure how I feel. Pre-game I had been talking about the match with friends and family and warning everyone that this was going to prove a harder fixture than maybe a lot of fans were anticipating.

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Not every night will produce a performance like Leipzig and personally I felt like Club Brugge would provide the type of challenge that we have struggled with in the past, a team who are defensively sound and play a style that focuses on being hard to break down.

Kasper Schmeichel speaks to his teammates during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The game panned out as I expected. Club Brugge showed they are a strong unit who don’t present the opposition with many chances. At the same time, even know I knew they would be difficult opponents tonight I was also left slightly disappointed that we didn’t offer more.

Celtic weren’t firing on all cylinders, especially in that first half. But in the end I honestly don’t feel overly disappointed with only claiming a point tonight. Yes we are always expecting to win our home games, especially with the way we have been playing this season, but in terms of the way the game panned out tonight we deserved no more than a point. As I said earlier, it’s hard to know how to feel after that one.

Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic appears dejected after scoring Club Brugge KV’s first goal with an own goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Regarding the players tonight, a few thoughts I have had regarding certain players recently were certainly emphasised during the game. I have to start with the obvious one. Arne Engels is no doubt a good player and I genuinely believe he will prove more than worth his £11m price tag in the end but at this very moment in time he isn’t offering enough to be a guaranteed starter every week.

I actually thought he should have been withdrawn at halftime tonight but on the hour mark he was finally substituted and I have to say Paulo Bernardo produced more in his half and hour than Arne did in his hour on the pitch. I hope Paulo gets his opportunity to impress against Ross County at the weekend. Engels has played a lot since joining Celtic and also been playing a lot for his national team so could be doing with a rest.

Daizen Maeda celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

I felt exactly the same in regards to Taylor. I was happy to see him withdrawn for Valle tonight. In general I feel like Valle offers more than Taylor. Yes the Scottish international plays a specific role where he can add a lot to midfield playing that inverted role which he usually does so well but I honestly think that Valle is just a better player, especially in European fixtures.

Another player who can annoy me at times is Reo Hatate. To me he is a bit of enigma. When in full flow he can look fantastic. But more often than not I will find myself frustrated with the Japanese midfielder. He has a knack of losing the ball in really bad positions.

He often tries the ‘Hollywood turn’ and loses possession when a simple touch and pass would help the team more. You can’t fault his energy or enthusiasm at all, but he really has to learn to take the easy option at times and not try to pull the ‘highlight reel’ stuff off all the time. At the moment I feel like playing both Hatate and Engels is leaving us weakened in midfield.

Ferran Jutgla of Club Brugge KV scores a goal which was later ruled out for offside during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

As I said earlier, I think Bernardo in the middle is a must at the minute. He will definitely lighten the load on Callum McGregor, who I think was one of our best players tonight, but who too often was left looking vulnerable on the counter attack by his two midfield partners.

It’s far from doom and gloom however. We were far from our best tonight but still managed to win yet another Champions League point. It wasn’t the ideal result but in the grand scheme of things actually didn’t harm us too much. This new format in the Champions League is proving a huge winner.

Paulo Bernardo and Cameron Carter-Vickers at the end of the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024.(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The competition has never been as competitive. Teams not expected to do well are consistently and unexpectedly picking up results and some of the bigger names are struggling. This has led to the league phase being wide open. We are actually only 3 points off 5th place.

Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic looks on at the end of the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

So things are still positive. We have three games left and we are more than capable of getting results in all three. A point tonight in a game where we’ve clearly underperformed could prove crucial come the end of this phase. We will bounce back from this and I have absolutely no doubt we will claim the points needed to progress to the next round, with results elsewhere meaning that claiming a top 8 spot still isn’t an unrealistic aspiration.

Conall McGinty