Liam Scales labelled Celtic ‘naive’ after Tuesday’s 6-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid left the Hoops on the brink of exiting the Champions League.
Celtic currently sit bottom in Group E, having earned just one point after four games. With just two matches remaining, they face an uphill battle for a chance to advance to the knockout stages.
The Bhoys must now secure a two-goal victory against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and win against Feyenoord at Celtic Park. Additionally, they will need other results to go their way, including Atletico Madrid winning their last two matches, if they are to have any hope of European football after Christmas.
Daizen Maeda’s early red card on Tuesday left Celtic facing a daunting challenge with over 60 minutes remaining in the game against one of Europe’s top sides. Brendan Rodgers couldn’t have asked for a worse start, as Celtic found themselves trailing 1-0 after Antoine Griezmann scored just six minutes into the match, and Maeda was sent off after 23 minutes.
Celtic have continued to make costly errors, with Maeda and Odin Thiago Holm each being sent off in away matches against Atletico and Lazio. This has certainly been a pattern that has emerged for the Hoops this season in the Champions League with group opponents Atletico, Feyenoord and Lazio all able to capitalise on mistakes from the Scottish Premiership champions.
What’s been most frustrating for Celtic supporters this season is that defeats in the Champions League haven’t been due to their opponents’ excellence, but rather their own mistakes and begs the question where would Celtic sit in the Group E if not for their own mistakes.
Scales said: [The Scottish Sun], “It’s probably that we’re a young team and maybe a bit naive at times. You come and play in Europe and the referees, you get nothing out of them.
“They are a lot stricter, and tackles you might get away with domestically, are fouls.”
Scales however believes Celtic are ready to compete in the Champions League but thinks errors have cost them dearly this season. He said: “We got a good result at home against them. We’re at the level, it’s just naivety and poor decisions at times that have let us down.”
The Republic of Ireland defender also discussed Atletico Madrid and how valuable lessons can be learned from the crafty tactics employed by Diego Simeone’s side.
Scales said: “You see the way they react and all of their staff are up off the bench. It really doesn’t help. They are definitely more street smart than us, that’s for sure, the way they can influence the referee.
“It’s not the nicest part of the game, but it helps them win games and we could definitely learn from it.”
Scales’ quotes reflect on the disaster that was Tuesday night in Madrid, and they also highlight how Atletico managed to sway the game in their favour through questionable tactics, including pressuring the referee and therefore putting VAR under pressure to review Maeda’s challenge.
Scales is spot on in his assessment of Celtic being at the level, but mistakes have been the problem. In European football, comes a higher level of officiating in which players are judged at an elite level in how they tackle and how much contact they make with opponents.
Celtic players can compete, but they must reconsider how they regain possession, or situations like what happened on Tuesday night will continue to occur in the Champions League year after year.
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