Celtic defender Christopher Jullien only joined the Hoops in the summer. However, he has been at the club for long enough to see the differences that happen when Celtic play in Europe, and when the Hoops play domestic football.
The main difference he has found is that the Hoops get more ‘space’ as the teams in Europe like to attack the Hoops. Jullien has found that the situation is different when it comes to domestic football, as Celtic need to break teams down, who often aren’t interested in attacking.
“We have more space”
“In the Europa League it feels like we have more space to play because the opposition teams attack us more” Jullien said, as reported by the Celtic View (Volume 55, Issue 21, Pages. 13 and 14).
“Sometimes in the league the opposition teams sit back, and we have to be patient and move the ball from side to side in order to find that small opening. But in Europe the opponents are coming forward, and we know we can hurt them if we switch into attack when we in possession.”
Dealing with teams domestically who sit in and try to frustrate Celtic has been an issue the Hoops have had to deal with for years.
Thankfully Celtic have the players in their squad to usually break down the most stubborn of defences. Jullien’s comments about Europe are intriguing. They could show that the Hoops accept that they are a counter-attacking side in Europe, the opposite of what Celtic are domestically.
Manager has used team’s attacking instincts well
Neil Lennon has put that tactic to good use this season. For example, Celtic’s winning goal in Rome against Lazio was down to the Hoops taking advantage of a Lazio mistake, and turning defence into attack.
Maybe we won’t see that happen against Rennes on Thursday night as Celtic will be expected to be on the front-foot, but in the later stages of the Europa League that tactic could continue to work a treat for the Hoops.
It is good to see that after only a short time at the club, Jullien knows how to play for the Hoops in both Europe and in the league. That bodes well for the player’s career at Celtic in the years to come.
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