Celtic had the eyes of the world watching them on Thursday night, including an Arsenal icon.
But they failed to impress those millions of viewers as the Hoops lost 2-0 to Braga in the Europa League at a disconsolate Parkhead.
A Kasper Schmeichel error and some extremely messy defending handed the Portuguese side a deserved victory, their first ever in Scotland.
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Ray Parlour wants to see more Celtic youngsters in first-team
The Arsenal legend in question is Ray Parlour and he told talkSPORT on Friday morning his one big takeaway from the Celtic defeat.
Parlour was speaking on the station’s breakfast show with Celtic-daft Alan Brazil and thinks there should be more academy youngsters in the team.
He said: “I do agree there should be more academy boys coming through who really know what it means to play for Celtic and Rangers, they must have them.”
Should Celtic youngsters be out on loan or in senior squad?
Well, Celtic had recent academy graduate Colby Donovan in the starting XI and it’s clear the right-back is a talent.
However, he was sacrificed at half-time by Brendan Rodgers as the Hoops changed shape to accommodate substitute Marcelo Saracchi.
Dane Murray is another who has emerged from the academy and into the first-team, and it was his unfortunate clearance that rebounded off a Braga player and into the net for the second goal.
Celtic certainly do have some good talent, but perhaps Parlour is right in that there isn’t enough in the squad right now.
Many of Celtic’s talented youngsters are out on loan this season, with Sean McArdle the most recent departure to Partick Thistle.
Should he and others like Jude Bonnar and Mitchell Robertson be gaining minutes in the first-team, or is that unrealistic given the senior competition in front of them?
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