Celtic were completely overrun against Borussia Dortmund as the heavens opened up in a 7-1 Champions League defeat at Signal Iduna Park.
On a sobering night in North Rhine Westphalia, the Bhoys have plenty to learn from after coming up against a side rich in class. It is no surprise that Nuri Sahin’s side made the final last term; they looked well worthy of that billing.
However, the bigger Champions League picture for Celtic is still positive. They already have three points in the league phase, placing them above the likes of Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and RB Leipzig in the league phase.
Imperatively, Celtic are further up than opponents Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb, who they will feel optimistic about claiming points off later in the tournament’s first edition of the new Swiss-style format.
Nevertheless, Mark Wilson thinks that his old side need to address one particular area to aid their mission for progress in the Champions League.
Mark Wilson wants Celtic to address the number six role
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, Wilson has pointed to the fact that Celtic have been ‘missing’ a traditional number six for a number of years and wants to see it addressed following a difficult night for the engine room on Tuesday.
He explained: “I think I’ve said for a number of years now, Celtic have been missing that real physical presence, maybe in these European nights in there. Calum McGregor is brilliant on the ball and he’ll start moves.
“But is he that player that will break up attacks? Maybe not, but I don’t think he was helped. I don’t think it was Callum McGregor’s best game the other night. I thought he was as poor as anybody. I don’t think he was helped by Bernardo and Engels.
“I thought they were too easy to play through. As good as Engels has been, I thought he just got overrun.”
Celtic’s holding midfielder debate isn’t a new topic
In what feels like it becomes a yearly discussion, the argument for or against Celtic bringing in a traditional number six seems to rear its head.
Club captain Callum McGregor occupies that position and rarely misses a beat in the engine room, having maintained a 92.6% accuracy rate in the Scottish Premiership from 460 balls attempted.
Nevertheless, the demand for a more physical midfielder to give the former Scotland international a license to roam in the Champions League is always there from some, so it really remains a matter of personal preference.
Ultimately, there is scope for discussion on it, but the likelihood that Celtic would be able to find someone who offers a better overall package than McGregor on the market is slim.
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