Celtic suffered a heavy 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, and one player has come under fire more than others in the media.
Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic
Brendan Rodgers’ side travelled to Germany looking to maintain their unbeaten run in all competitions but were quickly behind after a penalty from Emre Can. However, the Hoops quickly equalised thanks to Daizen Maeda, following a sublime cross from summer signing Arne Engels.
It looked as if would be an entertaining game after a frantic first 10 minutes, however, the hosts soon took control and ran away with proceedings, with Karim Adeyemi hitting a first-half hat-trick.
Speaking after the game, Rodgers admitted he won’t change his side’s approach going forward: “Will we camp in and just wait? No, we won’t do that. We know it’ll be difficult at times. Tonight, we just gave it away too easy and we got punished.
“We went in high in confidence, we felt we were in a really good place. We had to start much better as we gave away really cheap goals. And we got punished for loose bits of play and passes. They were ruthless in their finishing. It’s very difficult for us to get to that level. It’s a different level, with the greatest respect. We want to be more competitive. My job is to go away and inspire the players again. We need to learn from it or we will get punished at this level.”
Following the final whistle, the Celtic player ratings from both The Daily Record and The Scotsman were shared, and although there weren’t many high scorers, one player was near or at the bottom of the pile.
Celtic defender Greg Taylor slammed for first-half display
Left-back Greg Taylor only lasted 45 minutes before being replaced at the interval by Alex Valle. The Scotsman gave Taylor a 2/10 rating and said: “A torrid evening for the left-back, part of a backline that was brutally exposed. Came off for Alex Valle at the break.”
Meanwhile, The Daily Record gave him a 3/10 and also said he was exposed in Germany. “The left back often has the finger pointed at him at this level and it’s a position many believe an upgrade is require to really compete in the Champions League. Exposed here and hooked at half time.”
The £15,000-a-week left-back was actually Celtic’s worst-rated performer on the evening, as per SofaScore, recording a match rating of 5.6/10. Statistically, Taylor struggled as well, losing possession 11 times in the opening 45 minutes, just under every five minutes. He failed to make a tackle, interception, clearance or block a shot and lost his only ground duel of the night.
Coming up against Adeyemi who bagged a hat-trick in the opening half, it was no surprise to see Taylor taken off so early on, and it’ll be interesting if he keeps his place in the starting line-up against Ross County this weekend.
