Yesterday I wrote that you and I were conditioned to what lay ahead in Dortmund. If you expected any different, that’s on you. My point was, “We are in no way the finished article, but Celtic will gather important information tonight”. In this respect, the game could not have gone better. The message was writ large, Celtic cannot play Tier 1 teams in the Champions League as though they were playing Ross County.
The danger signs were there in the opening 150 seconds. For that entire period, Celtic took the game to Dortmund, attacking with the gusto only someone with no memory of the consequences of such bravado. Thereafter, Borussia Dortmund got the ball and scored. At will.
Out of possession, I repeatedly counted six Celtic players in the Dortmund half, with yellow jerseys flying past them. Post-match, we learned that Celtic had modified their press into a more conservative model. This would perhaps explain why Nicolas Kuhn would press a second before anyone else joined in.
Teams press together. This takes practice to get right, we looked unrehearsed, embarrassingly so. Daizen Maeda was exceptional, I had scarcely said, he “could play at Tier 1 level” before he caused a goal. Kasper Schmeichel had his best game for Celtic (let that sink in), while Cameron Carter-Vickers was clearly missed.
There is such a scarcity of left footed central defenders that I doubt Auston Trusty has played on the right a dozen times in his life. His body shape was as unrehearsed as Celtic’s press throughout the night.
The record books will not show that Dortmund took the foot of the gas in the second half. Celtic calmed a little during that period and continued to make chances, some of which would have been rewarded on another day. Valle and Hatate both looked comfortable in possession.
Co-commentators seldom illuminate our thinking but Neil Lennon was exceptional in his analysis. He twice played for Martin O’Neill sides who returned from Barcelona with a draw, and beat them at Celtic Park with 21% possession. He was also there when Gordon Strachan’s side faced Milan at the San Siro in the last 16 of this competition and held the line until extra time.
As Celtic manager, Neil defended home and away to Lazio, winning on both occasions. Martin, Gordon and Neil were all capable of learning lessons. What Brendan Rodgers does with the information he learned last night is open to conjecture.
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Watching Atalanta v Shaktar.2-0 HT.Shaktar,0 attempts.Atalanta14.Very strange game.No idea what Shaktar are doing.No wingers,no striker.Pulling out of 50/50s,.Atalanta by no means good.Scored second on HT.Commentary team bamboozled by it.Shaktar not parking the bus,they get to midfield,that’s it.Very strange game.
QUADROPHENIAN on 2ND OCTOBER 2024 7:53 AM
BTW, I watched that debate today; sad to say that Vance seemed to land more points than Walz.
*wow didnae take you for a maga, wtf, I never watch fox and have given up on cnn, but last night post debate Tim’s ratings soared while the chameleon, who once labeled tangerine heid as America’s Hitler, plunged.
Tontine Tim
I hear that the ratings were about 50/50 which reflects what we know – nobody really cares.
I agree that Vance came across well but only to anyone who had never heard him before – he was the epitome of disingenuous – f***ing snake.
Unfortunately most voters are switched off so this might help them. Fortunately it was the VP debate, so I doubt it will make a material difference.
The thing that still strikes me most about the Barca game (other than FF’s goalkeeping) was how well Adam Matthews played at left back, not on his natural side.
Not a giant but played with great concentration, endeavour and skill that night.
how do players go away to their respective national teams and manage to play a different managers defensive systems ?
i wonder if john or strachan had the balls to say to brendan , are you sure you want to do this boss remember the last time, arguably with better players.
and anither thing, i am not really buying into the celtic will win their games at home mantra either.
one of these teams will come to celtic park and defend for their lives then hit us on the break.
As the first half developed it became clear that Celtic’s tactics were to be the same safe and sensible ones they adopted last month in Budapest. Murdoch, Dalglish Callaghan and Johnstone were the midfield set up to contain Inter.
This was a drawing-board performance by Celtic. Stein according to his latest thinking, set them to defend in the middle of the field, to hold the ball there and tie up the game. This they did brilliantly, and especially in the first half.
Murdoch was the key man there, but Callaghan, with running and tackling and precise passing played above himself; and Johnstone ran miles in linking the play. It was brilliant tactical work against the European game’s great tacticians and there was not a weak link anywhere in the Celtic formation. Little Lou Macari was left to carry the weight of the attack in a game that was stern but never tough. He took a beating and shirked nothing.
The match was transformed in the second half when Inter, unlike them attacked with everything they had and as Celtic had done in Lisbon on their last memorable meeting in the final.
Celtic then lost some of their elegance in the midfield; but those two masters in the middle of the defence—Billy McNeill and George Connelly—could not be drawn, nor beaten. It was one of the Celtic captain’s greatest matches, and behind him the goalkeeper, Evan Williams, was safe and cool in the white-heat as if it were a training session.
Inter were a great attacking team to the last half hour, contrary to their reputation. That smooth midfield man, Mazzola, pushed in on top of his forwards and found pace and stamina we thought had long since gone. The renowned Boninsegna tried to shake clear of the tight marking of McNeill and Connelly, and Pellizzaro chafed beside him seeking space that never showed, and eventually, he was taken off and Ghil was sent on to try and do better.
The final half hour seemed interminable and the hands of the great clock above the terracing seemed to drag as the noise of the frantic Inter fans increased until it seemed to press down hammering at our eardrums; and Inter responded to it, but could make nothing of this Celtic defending.
And always, Celtic were ready to break. Murdoch striding through the middle; Callaghan, going on long runs up the left; Craig, overlapping on the right, using the space given him by Inter playing no right winger.
Then came Jock Stein, grinning all over the face that has shown such strain this week as the injury problems crippled his defence. He heId out his lands and cried: “There is only one word for that — magnificent!”
There was no one to argue with him. He continued: “We are now in the same position as when we last drew in this stadium against AC Milan. Now we can only knock ourselves out.” He was entitled to his moments of satisfaction, for he could have asked for no better a result. He had played for the no-scoring draw and got it.
The Inter coach, Invernizzi, had told his team they must score; and they had failed. There was no doubt who was the happier manager.
There had been much satisfying football in this tie, but—and this might seem a contradiction—there had been few goal attempts. The reason was Celtic’s success in concentrating the play in the midfield. In the first half there was a fine shot from Boninsegna which Williams saved with such composure that we knew his eye was in; and so it proved to be.
Yet one has to say that this game survived the lack of goals and the lack of action by the goalkeepers. The organisation and the elegance of the midfield play was satisfying, as was the fierce goalmouth incidents in the second half when McNeill and Connelly were defending so desperately.
Evening Times 6th April 1972
Villa’s first time in the EC/CL for forty years or so.
Their manager has vast experience in European football, but up against a team that has consistently played in the CL and who knocked out Arsenal quite comfortably last season. Be interesting to see how the EPL team one, approach the game, and two how they do against a team capable of controlling games against just about anybody. For the record I would favour Munich to get a least a draw tonight, we’ll see though, good tie.
the art of defending.
5 years after scoring the winner in a european cup final, and on the night celtic are heroes in milan for the ultimate defensive performance, stevie bhoy is scoring at rain soaked cappielow.
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/775ec422f3544982eeb7a7aada83f96e
https://www.thecelticwiki.com/1972-04-05-inter-milan-0-0-celtic-european-cup/
and john fallon in goal for well.
BSR – cheers.
No is short answer ….
…. although, IMHO, some smart comments.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-transfers-spending-sancho-varane-b1892175.html
Chairbhoy absolutely nailed one of aspect earlier.
“Who in this shower has experience of playing German teams?’
“Who is their most mobile midfielder?”
Same answer for both.
“Fine. Kick the 5h1t out of him and we’re halfway home”
Lennie vs Barca is not a comparator.
A far less physical team.
All the angst about our lack of quality, IMHO, misses the point widely.
The lack of physicality AND aggression was/is the biggest factor.
One way of looking at it?
If you can’t physically deal with farm worker types from Perth and Dingwall? ….
… you’ve ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE against elite German trained athletes.
Power and physicality of a completely different kind and on a totally different level.
Consider wrestling a pig versus wrestling a leopard.
One will bump, bash and muddy you.
The other will choke you, suffocate you and eat you up.
dessybhoy on @6:24pm
I seem to remember the league game right after the Barcelona win where Watt scored, we drew with St Johnstone at home 1.1, I’m sure we will win in Dingwall if we play our game be committed and take our chances.
…………….
NL [ parked the bus ] vs Barcelona and we got our result. And then at home in the next game we didn’t [ park the bus ] and got found out. Was it not a home 0-1 defeat to Killie after the magnificent Barcelona result?
And – The Celtic Way needs to be placed in the memory slot of the great Stein era – as there can be no copycatting the Celtic Way which last worked almost 60 years ago.
Stein and his era of great players – are no more. To try to play like these God’s cannot be repeated and only a fool would try to play like them. A new way was found with Wim 4-4-2 and his midfield diamond of hardy players – Then MON and his 3-5-2 almost won our 2nd European trophy in Seville in 2003.
If NL had retained his [ park the bus ] tactics vs Juventus in the last 16 of the CL in 2012 then who knows what would have lay ahead.
BR playing tippy tappy 4-3-3 with 2 wingers vs Dortmund away or at home was hunlike arrogance asking for a slap – and Dortmund obliged.
At a real serious club last night would have been viewed as the lesson we must learn from – but BR takes lessons from no one – and when Celtic FC is a free for all of the already stinking rich and Gold Plated Pension crooks and a fan base who are not allowed to ask a single question and therefore there is zero accountability – the dogs on the street would all say “If you didn’t have these crooks you would have some other crooks – woof woof!!”
Parking the bus is for underdogs – is that not who we are supposed to be? That’s not defeatist its an awareness that always gives you the heads up. But now in the all seated era – were sitting next to Doctors, Chartered accountants, Architects, etc – I want away from seats before I forget who I am.
The more University degrees that Timdom gets – the more muggings it gets – sumdy please make it stop.
Aston Villa Bayern.
TNT Sports coverage cut to the crowd on 19 minutes during a break in play ….
… just in time to see a fan snorting some Charlie !!!
VAR strikes again!
Villa goal ruled out….offside?
Talk about bad luck with penalties and deflections is also, IMHO, wide of the mark.
“Luck” has nothing to do with it.
The penalties were awarded because the Celtic player arrived after the Bayern player.
The deflected goal was the result of a late block attempt by Trusty.
If he had arrived earlier the ball would have bounced off him and either gone back behind the striker or out for a corner.
That’s us down to 4-1)
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full on 2nd October 2024 8:22 pm
Aston Villa Bayern.
TNT Sports coverage cut to the crowd on 19 minutes during a break in play ….
… just in time to see a fan snorting some Charlie !!!
————————
Thought I was seeing things …..fekn eejit .
BTB -The penalties were awarded because the Celtic player arrived after the Bayern player.
We -payed Dortmond.
Are you on the Charlie as well 😂
Ooooft……what a goal 😮
GM – hic.
(I’m a traditionalist)
Speaking of Bayern …. we’re level with them tonight.
There you go….rope-a-dope for Bayern.
We could learn something from those tactics.
Well done Villa.
Test
Wow.
Lille beat Real Madrid?
Some big hitters currently mid table.
Real Madrid, Celtic, Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich.
So, after all teams have played 2 games, we sit in 20th position – 4 places above the dividing line for progression to the next stage.
Great win for Villa, six points from six
Yet to play us mind…
TEXASTIM on 2ND OCTOBER 2024 7:02 PM
Tontine Tim I hear that the ratings were about 50/50 which reflects what we know – nobody really cares.
I
*’m very wary of the polls and ratings now as I just read that a very prominent tory group are colluding with trump on them and the feeling is should he lose then he will be able to claim it was rigged… again, and also to discourage democrats from voting in a “losing” causse.
I agree that Vance came across well but only to anyone who had never heard him before – he was the epitome of disingenuous – f***ing snake.
*there’s a young former trump employee still a republican but NOT a maga who appears periodically on CNN who stated pretty much what you said but in more moderate terms who also described hm as a chameleon and one of the most dangerous guys in America.
If Man Ure are looking for a manager, Unai Emery is just down the road…..
Tontine Tim on 2nd October 2024 6:55 pm
QUADROPHENIAN on 2ND OCTOBER 2024 7:53 AM
BTW, I watched that debate today; sad to say that Vance seemed to land more points than Walz.
*wow didnae take you for a maga, wtf, I never watch fox and have given up on cnn, but last night post debate Tim’s ratings soared while the chameleon, who once labeled tangerine heid as America’s Hitler, plunged.
———-
TONTINE; wtf yourself ! I watched it on SBS here in AU and – read what I wrote – I was SAD TO SAY VANCE SEEMED TO LAND MORE POINTS. I was just watching a debate and felt one guy landed more message points that the other, He sounded slicker. And I have zero endorsement of the hillbilly elegy (a boak of a story) corporateer’s sentiments or views.
Me Maga? Ha! You have zero fughen idea!!
Some good posts today, after a very rough night
Celtic – we started 20th, went as low as 22nd, then back to 20th. Fun and games – fun structure.
Quadropheinan – I agree you didn’t come across MAGA – my guess just a speed read from Tontine.
Tontine – this has no other outcome – if he loses it’s rigged will be the cry. Think about what they did to the people of Springfield, Ohio and STILL the orange bawbag will get 50%+ of the vote. There is a sinister underbelly of for profit TV shows peddling crap and GB TV is going the same.
…..way. 😉
TEXASTIM – thanks mate. Can’t see how writing I was SAD about his performance implied any endorsement and extrapolated to being a fan of the mentally ill narcissist sludgebag.
More generally, it still puzzles me how ‘Muricans can’t see thru the bile and self-serving disingenuity of everything that’s trumpian.
Still…onto Ross County HH