After their draw with Kilmarnock this weekend, Celtic find themselves in a situation they didn’t want to be in.
With just 12 games remaining in the Scottish Premiership season, Brendan Rodgers is currently ranked second in the standings after David Watson’s equalising goal for the visitors in the 92nd minute and Rangers’ convincing win over St Johnstone.
Going back to yesterday afternoon, when Kyogo Furuhashi gave the Bhoys the lead at the 32-minute mark, things appeared much more optimistic; but, their 1-1 stalemate with the Ayrshire side has subsequently had unfavourable effects. Derek McInnes has now defeated Celtic in three of his four encounters with the defending champions, which aptly demonstrates the Hoops’ inability to consistently get past low-block defences. Now that Rodgers has overseen a Scottish League Cup exit and placed his team bottom of their Champions League group, their league play is starting to falter at a critical juncture, albeit they still have a chance to turn things around.
Extremely optimistic supporters will point out that before 2023–24 ends, the Irishman might win both the league and the Scottish Cup; yet, given Celtic’s recent results, some people are starting to lose hope.
Though it’s unknown how much will change in a week before the Hoops travel to play Motherwell on Sunday, it’s true that time is the greatest healer.
Brendan Rodgers explains a quality that Celtics don’t have
Following the game on Saturday, Rodgers berated Celtic for not playing with the proper defensive posture, which ultimately proved to be their undoing against Kilmarnock.
Another noteworthy assessment from the 51-year-old was that the Bhoys lacked the “aggression” and hunger needed to persevere through defeat.
Rodgers told [BBC Sport]: “It’s not an isolated incident. It has occurred far too frequently, and each time you examine the data from an analytical standpoint, the defensive side is the only one where there has been a decline.
Important players have been absent from certain spots. That said, we must occasionally be more difficult to defeat. We need to be more aggressive, and you need to be prepared to do that if you need to finish a game.
It has simply occurred far too frequently. To prevent a goal from being achieved, there must be a stronger hunger.
The way Celtic defended Kilmarnock’s equaliser was appalling.
Kilmarnock’s equalising goal left Celtic completely flat, and a lot of players may be held accountable for giving up in the closing seconds.
First of all, the ball was worked wide because the Bhoys did not apply enough pressure. Anthony Ralston might have done more to stop Fraser Murray’s cross once the ball moved to the left channel.
The ball was then lofted into the air, catching Alexandro Bernabei beneath and giving Watson a clear header that he dutifully put away.
Since football is a team sport, the team as a whole must take responsibility for allowing the visitors to salvage a point at Parkhead, which has already shown to be a disastrous result.
