It’s fair to say that Gustaf Lagerbielke was never a prominent figure at Celtic.
The Swedish defender was brought to Glasgow from Swedish side Elfsborg by Brendan Rodgers, to help deal with the loss of countryman Carl Starfelt.
Clearly a player in need of development, his game time grew sporadic after a red card against Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Lagerbielke scored in the return match against the Dutch side at Celtic Park, but after that, he never started for Celtic again. After spending last season on loan at FC Twente, he moved to Braga in the summer.
The 25-year-old played the full match on his return to Glasgow – and in securing an away victory and clean sheet, he got some Hoops fans talking.
Celtic fans react to Gustaf Lagerbielke performance for Braga
It was a disappointing performance from Celtic to say the least – despite an appalling refereeing decision denying Kelechi Iheanacho an equaliser, the team didn’t do enough to win the game.
READ MORE: Joe Hart fears ‘flat’ Celtic Park atmosphere is affecting ‘certain players’
Hoops fans could be forgiven for not expecting much from Lagerbielke on the night – but a clean sheet certainly indicates that he showed up well.
For some supporters on X, his performance raised doubts about his treatment and eventual departure from Celtic.
@Melldoom ironically said: “Shockeroonie, turns out Gustaf Lagerbielke not actually so terrible after all.”
Another fan agreed that he was a good player all along, saying: “He was always a good player, it’s just Celtic who failed to realise that.”
Another supporter went for Brendan Rodgers’ treatment of the Swede, saying: “Lagerbielke is prime example of Rodgers abysmal player management.
“Even now if we focus on current Celtic players , so many are regressing at a speed of knots. In the Calendar year 2025 , we have been rotten, and getting progressively worse.”
@Stephen00485191 agreed that the manager should be questioned, saying: “Truth is Lagerbielke was never given a chance by Brendan and is actually a decent defender as he showed tonight!”
Another fan even ruled that he was better than Liam Scales, saying: “Lagerbielke never had a poor game for us. He’s better than Scales despite Rodgers protestations. Self justification.”
Gustaf Lagerbielke’s Braga performance vs Celtic in numbers
If stats and data are your thing, there are certainly some interesting points on the Swede’s performance on Thursday.
Lagerbielke won seven ground duels on the night – more than any other Braga player. This shows that he may have upped his physical game since his season at Celtic.
He also completed three dribbles on the night, more than the other two Braga centre backs combined – for comparison, Daizen Maeda, Paulo Bernardo and Benjamin Nygren all completed none.
If he continues performing as he has for the Portuguese side, they could be looking at a healthy profit on the £2.2 million that they paid for his services.
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