Takeaways from Celtic knocked out of Europa League

1) Heavy defensive formation didn’t work after all

The biggest question mark around the club heading into the contest had to be the rumored formation. 3-5-1-1 didn’t sound good on paper especially given the current state of the defense. So, Brendan Rodgers changed it.

The boss went with a 5-4-1 in the fixture, allowing Kieran Tierney and James Forrest to rest back on the wings. On paper, the 3-5-1-1 didn’t look good, but on the pitch, the 5-4-1 was getting thrown to pieces.

Celtic was simply buried in their own end for those crucial opening ten minutes. The first heading goal from Branislav Ivanovic happened, and Celtic knew they weren’t playing a defensive game anymore.

However, no adjustments seemed to be made. Zenit had already captured the momentum at home early, and Celtic simply didn’t have enough time on the ball to start off the fixture. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

How Rodgers used the formation to start was even more confusing. Mikael Lustig would have fit way better in the RB position than Forrest. Forrest has been in decent form up front lately, so why not put him there?

Anthony Ralston must have fallen off the Earth. Rodgers didn’t even use him in the lineup at all, and he has Champions League experience at his young age.

Scott Sinclair was on the bench for some reason. Maybe it would’ve been nice to start some young pace to match Zenit’s counter-attacking such as Charly Musonda.

Rodgers felt as if he put out the best possible lineup. It’s his job, but it didn’t work in the fixture. The least he could do is admit to it, rather than taking it out on some of the players.