Rogic and Jota show what Ange attack can be for Celtic at European level

By John McGinley

September 16, 2021

Tonight was a disappointing one for Celtic away from home in Europe.

As familiar as that feeling has been over the years, tonight really looked at one point to be going very much our way. With two goals and threatening to score a third, the Bhoys looked unstoppable in the early stages.

However, sadly, too much space and ineffective defending meant that Real Betis found it too easy to score four goals of their own. Plenty of effort but no points to show from a 4-3 defeat.

Still, if we’re to examine any positives in the immediate aftermath of tonight, it’s undoubtedly from our attacking players.

Tom Rogic and Jota were particularly impressive throughout. I really enjoyed watching them on the ball. The duo caused particular problems for the Spaniards in the first half when Celtic were at their best. Into the second half still, they proved themselves to be effective attacking outlets. Rogic even hit the post!

It’s good to know, at the very least despite tonight’s result, that these forward-thinking players can threaten Europa League level teams.

Betis aren’t one of Europe’s elite sides, but they aren’t half bad and are better than most in La Liga. With Celtic significantly depleted, we still managed to cut through their defence on a number of occasions.

With Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and more due to return to the starting line-up over the coming weeks, we should be even more potent in the final third.

So that part of Celtic bodes well for the rest of the group. Now, if we can figure out the significant problems we see in midfield and defence that’d be grand.

For these Celtic fans, Rogic was a joy to watch tonight and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts, despite the result…

In other news, Ange Postecoglou explains the Joe Hart Celtic captaincy decision.