Celtic blew away Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Wednesday night and their players are under no illusions about the lesson they were given.
Brendan Rodgers inspired his team to produce a sumptuous performance with Liam Scales, Kyogo Furuhashi, Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah all on target in a 5-1 victory.
While Celtic were the favourites to win before kick-off, few people expected the Bhoys to pick up their biggest-ever Champions League group stage victory.
Slovan manager Vladimir Weiss Sr was left impressed, as was their captain, and other players within the visitors’ squad have been talking up the challenge they faced in Glasgow.
David Strelec says Celtic ‘dismantled’ Slovan Bratislava
Speaking to Sport.sk, striker David Strelec said: “It was a tough game. It’s a pity we didn’t score to make it 1-0 or 1-1.
“In the second half, we were dismantled and we can be happy that we only got five. The atmosphere was great and so were the people.
“But we came here to get a point because we have some tough opponents ahead of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that.”
Juraj Kucka taken to Celtic ‘football school’
Veteran midfielder Juraj Kucka, who has played for AC Milan and Genoa in the past, added: “We got a good football school. We saw how fast it is to be equal to such teams.
“We showed something, but we need to improve a lot. Especially the transition to attack. Their whole team was well organised, they moved well and got behind our backs.
“They knew how to put it together at the right moment. We have to break down the game, the coaches will show us the good and the bad. Maybe we need to be more efficient when we get to the goal.”
The numbers show Champions League domination
There’s no getting around it. Celtic thrashed their European foes and the numbers show the scale of that domination.
With 60% possession Celtic managed 16 shots at goal with 11 of them on target. Nine of those were considered big chances, demonstrating that the scoreline could have been even greater.
The Bhoys managed a whopping 36 touches in the opposition box and won 50 duels to 40 in a physical match.
The xG totals on the night were 3.79 to 0.51 which is one-sidedness to an extreme that is thrilling to consider Celtic are capable of producing in the continent’s premier competition.
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