Feyenoord 2-0 Celtic: Unleashing the Untapped Potential - A Crucial Lesson for Brendan Rodgers' Side

Celtic's experience in the Champions League seemed to follow a familiar narrative with their latest away defeat. Despite starting strong and dominating possession early on, the timing of Feyenoord's opening goal couldn't have been more unfortunate.

Calvin Stengs' free-kick just moments before the end of the first half ignited the Dutch champions, leading to an eventful sequence of events. Gustaf Lagerbielke, unable to escape punishment, committed a foul in the box resulting in a penalty and his second yellow card. However, Joe Hart's heroic save denied the opposition from capitalizing on the opportunity. Celtic's fate took a turn for the worse as Odin Holm was later shown a red card for a reckless challenge. While Lagerbielke may have been somewhat unfortunate, the young Norwegian cannot argue with his dismissal on his debut in the Champions League.

Celtic have been struggling to secure an away victory in Europe's top competition, with their last success coming against Anderlecht in 2017 under Rodgers' leadership. However, it can be argued that their performance in the initial stages in Rotterdam could offer some positivity as they look forward to their upcoming game against Lazio at home next month.

The team performed impressively in the initial half, overpowering an opponent that had managed to score 17 goals in their last three games.

Additionally, Celtic is currently facing a defensive predicament. Due to injuries, Cameron Carter-Vickers, as well as the new signings Maik Nawrocki and Nat Phillips, were absent from the match. Furthermore, the departure of Carl Starfelt during the summer has also affected the team.

Rodgers was quick to point out the positives on a disappointing night in Rotterdam.

"We showed in the game that for this tournament we are going to be competitive," he said.

We had a strong start to the game, and for the first 60 minutes, it was highly contested. Our team posed a threat and successfully advanced the ball into the attacking third. Perhaps if we made better decisions and released the pass sooner, we could have created more scoring opportunities.

However, I'm saddened by the fact that we conceded the first goal, especially at that particular moment.

"However, despite the balance maintained for the first 60 minutes, our team unfortunately had two players dismissed. Competing with a full squad of 11 players against 11 is already challenging, and the task becomes even more arduous when we are reduced to 9 players.

"Nevertheless, I must commend our players for their unwavering determination and mindset as they persevered. The situation was undeniably unfair to them."

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Celtic's Gustaf Lagerbielke fouls Feyenoord's Igor Paixao

However, the Celtic boss also admitted that, at times, inexperience proved costly.

Rodgers expressed his disappointment regarding the two red cards, acknowledging the significant challenge of playing with only nine players. Regarding the first sending-off, he emphasized the need for Lagerbielke to simply guide the ball to the goalkeeper rather than engaging in a confrontation as it approached Joe Hart. This mistake was attributed to inexperience.

"And Odin is a fantastic young player, he'll learn from that, you can't go to ground like that, particularly in Europe and he'll learn from that."

Johnston: Blocks to build on

Brendan Rodgers is targeting European football in the post-Christmas period, necessitating a prompt rebound after their initial loss. Their objective is to secure at least a third-place finish in Group E.

Defender Alistair Johnston emphasized that certain aspects of the match indicate that achieving this goal is feasible.

"Undoubtedly, the outcome fell short of our desired expectations, and there were certain instances during the match that we will retrospectively examine, aiming to derive valuable lessons," he expressed.

"I personally felt a great sense of pride in our collective efforts, and I firmly believe that we have laid a solid foundation upon which we can continue to construct and evolve."

"We've encountered numerous injuries, but we refuse to use them as an excuse. Interestingly, many players, including myself, were experiencing their debut in the Champions League and truly rose to the occasion.

This initial game is just the start of a six-match series, and we may not have been favored to secure any positive outcome from it. However, we genuinely believe in our team's ability to enter any match within this group and earn valuable points."

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