Celtic must learn from Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur

On the one hand, Celtic deserve some sympathy after Daizen Maeda was shown a controversial red card in the first half. To be very honest, the Japanese international should not have been sent off and up until that point, Brendan Rodgers’ side were looking decent even if they were a goal down thanks to an early strike from Antoine Griezmann.

The performance that followed after the red card has to be questioned. Yes, Celtic were playing with ten men against one of the best teams in Europe. But even then, a 6-0 defeat is pretty unacceptable.

The stats from the match do not make for good reading either. It was one of the most one-sided games of football you will ever see.

Celtic just allowed their shoulders to drop in the second half. That should not have happened. They just needed to have a look at the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea from last night to see what is possible even when a team is down to nine men.

Celtic must learn from Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur

Despite having two players sent off, Tottenham Hotspur were tied with Chelsea at 1-1 until the 75th minute. Even when they went 2-1 down, they found an equaliser but it was ruled out for offside. And they were inches away from another opportunity.

Even though Tottenham Hotspur lost 4-1 ultimately, they earned a lot of plaudits for the courage they showed and there was positivity around the performance. When they saw players being sent off, those on the pitch increased their intensity and output. Can anyone say the same thing about Celtic after their display against Atletico Madrid?

This was the story way too often in Rodgers’ first stint as Celtic manager as well. Whether it be the 7-0 defeat to Barcelona or the 7-1 and 5-0 defeats to PSG. There are ways to lose a football match. The one at Metropolitano Stadium was not one.