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22 Feb 2019, 07:16 IST
Valencia v Celtic – UEFA Europa League Round of 32: Second Leg
Celtics European adventure is over for another season after a lackluster showing against Spanish side Valencia. Kevin Gameiro‘s second-half goal was enough to confirm a 10-man Celtic’s fate, as they lost 1-0 in a night that saw January recruit Jeremy Toljan to see red for two Yellow cards in the first half.
Truth be told, the tie was nearly all but over after the first leg at Celtic Park, which saw them trail their opponents 2-0 going into their away leg and needing a top display to claw back the deficit. But here is 3 reasons, why Celtic couldn’t manage the comeback and will be left watching the rest of the Europa League at home.
#1 Lack of a Recognized Goal Threat
Celtic are toothless up front at the moment. With Moussa Dembele leaving in the summer there was a big hole to be filled in not just the goals scored, but the overall presence of a threat in these big games. They didn’t even really replace him when you consider their summer signing of Edouard, who was already at the club on loan last season too.
Going into the season with only two recognized strikers, namely Edouard and Griffiths was a huge gamble and one that hasn’t paid off with the former’s injuries and the latter’s off-field issues leaving them needing to go out and bring players in during the January window.
January signings Burke and Weah have started their Celtic careers fairly well so far. But, neither of them are really out and out strikers, so Burke who has been a winger for almost all of his career so far, is nowadays is being shoehorned into sometimes being a lone center forward.
Celtic can get away with playing these guys up front in the SPFL, as they will dominate and create plenty of chances for them. But if they want to go any further in Europe than the Round of 32 of the Europa League then they will need to bolster their squad with more bodies that are natural at center forward to capitalize on chances as well as overall play in the final third.
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