Kasper Schmeichel had a night to forget in Celtic’s defeat to Stuttgart.
Some would consider that an understatement, such was the nature of Schmeichel’s performance, which saw him culpable in some way for three of the visitors’ four goals.
His Celtic form has been questioned all season, and controversially, some in the stadium even decided to start booing the Danish international when he had the ball.
For Stiliyan Petrov, speaking on TNT Sports, it was a sign of blame culture. He said: “It’s human nature. We’re looking for somebody to take the blame.
“And it seems like, at the moment, the spotlight is on Kasper Schmeichel. Yeah, he had a bad game, but overall, I don’t think the team performed.
“Yes, some of the goals, yeah, he could’ve reacted better, but overall, the team haven’t performed at all.”
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Stiliyan Petrov on Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel
Petrov continued: “So to really pick up on Kasper is really harsh… it’s a great interview from Callum (in response.) You know, he’s defending his teammate.
“He knows how important Kasper will be over the next couple of months, because he’s a great goalkeeper he’s played so much outstanding games.
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“He had a poor night, but he wasn’t the only one that was poor before tonight. The team was poor tonight.”
McGregor said in the interview Petrov referenced: “Listen, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has off-nights.
“Kasper’s been amazing since coming to the club. Really really big part of success, big big player in the dressing room for us as well.
“Listen, he’ll dust that down and go again. We’re always the same, everyone’s together. We win as a team and we lose as a team.
“There’s no blame in terms of any of the players looking at him, et cetera. He’s made so many big saves for us. Like I said, he’ll bounce back for sure.”
Many are calling for Celtic to drop Schmeichel for Vijlami Sinisalo, who was signed in the same summer as his clear back-up.
Where has it gone wrong for Kasper Schmeichel this season?
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A tough season for Kasper Schmeichel
The Hoops keeper has been on the end of criticism for a number of months, now.
Schmeichel’s performance against Braga was the first major moment which saw him questioned by fans.
In last Sunday’s late win over Kilmarnock, Schmeichel didn’t cover himself for either of the hosts’ goals, leading to calls for him to be dropped on Thursday.
The resulting performance was exactly what he didn’t need, and now the microscope is on him more than ever.
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