It was always going to be a tough match for Celtic considering how out of form the Hoops have looked in recent times and how good Bayer Leverkusen have been this season, sitting at second in the Bundesliga table right now. But even then, not many probably would have expected the 4-0 scoreline.
To be honest, things could have been very different if Celtic had taken their chances on the other end of the pitch while avoiding making mistakes at the back. It was a very open match and while the performance from Ange Postecoglou’s side was not bad, they need to improve on their results as soon as possible.
Bayer Leverkusen managed to take advantage of how open Celtic are at the back at times. And they probably could have scored more than the four goals that they did.
Following the match, Bayer Leverkusen manager, Gerardo Seoane, explained how his team got the best of Celtic. As reported by Kicker, he said:
"“Of course we knew that Celtic acted with a lot of position changes. That is why we prepared our center so that we could switch quickly when a ball was passed into it and we could conquer it because the full-back in the center and the wing is free.”"
Celtic need to improve at the back as soon as possible
Postecoglou likes to play with inverted full-backs. And although it can work when it comes to increasing bodies in the middle of the park, it also leaves spaces open on the flanks.
And it is these open spaces that Bayer Leverkusen were able to make use of time after time. The second goal that they scored on the night was the perfect example of that.
It is safe to say that Celtic have not been great defensively for a while now and at this point of time, Postecoglou might not have all the players that he needs to fully implement his style of football. In that case, he does need to adjust and adapt a bit to the situation. While the long-term goal must certainly be playing free-flowing and attacking football, at the moment, the Hoops need to squeeze out some results.