Celtic midfielder Mika Baur admits he and his teammates were 'too passive' during their Europa League defeat to Celta Vigo on Thursday night. The Bhoys blew a second-half lead in the space of three minutes to make it three defeats from as many games in the competition.
Baur scored the opening goal of the game just two minutes after half-time, but two Javi Rodriguez goals in the space of three minutes saw the Spanish club complete a comeback win to kickstart their European campaign after back-to-back defeats to start the competition.
Celta had quality in reserve, and it showed, but they were also able to seize upon the momentum of their first goal, with Celtic unable to get control of the ball and take the sting out of the game after conceding from a brilliantly delivered free-kick.
“Very disappointing in the end," said Celtic goalscorer Baur to TNT Sports after the game. "We scored and I thought we had a good 10 minutes. We were too passive. They dominated us in our own half, around our own box.
“We had no control with the ball. We defended it not well enough. I think how we played the second half, or the last 30 minutes, it’s deserved in the end.”
Asked why Celtic couldn't wrestle back control, he added: “I cannot tell you. I’m sorry. I have no idea.”
It seemed obvious to most that Celtic needed to slow things down after the first goal, but Celta came right back at them and got their reward.
“Absolutely. It can happen that you get a goal," Baur continued. "They can score as well, good team. You should then get the control back, hold the ball a bit longer to take the momentum away from them.
“Like us, we had the momentum after our goal. It’s always like that. You should break that, but we did not.”
Celtic midfield has to avoid being sucked in
While the first goal was an excellent delivery, Celtic should have done better with a second. A delivery into the box was not properly cleared, and the Hoops midfield found itself far too deep, swallowed into the defence inside the box, allowing Rodriguez to receive the ball in space and get a brilliant shot off from the edge of the box.
The midfield, which includes Baur and Callum McGregor, has to occupy that space to make sure they are within a couple of steps of those on the edge of the box, at the very least forcing a rushed shot.
Those kinds of scenarios keep playing out, and Celtic keep getting punished for it.
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