Celtic travelled to Red Bull Arena to take on last season’s Europa League semi-finalist RB Salzburg. The Austrian outfit were favourites to get the win, and apart from an early scare, they looked assured and went on to secure a comfortable 3-1 win on the back of a strong second-half performance
Celtic took the lead early as Odsonne Edouard lashed on to a long ball where he outmuscled his marker and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper calmly. After that, the Austrian outfit came in waves of attack, but Celtic defended sternly and stoutly to keep their advantage. The Hoops found the back of the net the second time again due to some sloppy defending from Marco Rose’s men. However, Edouard was offside, and Celtic’s joy was short-lived. Nevertheless, they would have been glad to go in at halftime with the lead.
Salzburg were much more clinical after halftime as Moanes Dabour scored twice and Takumi Minamino got the other goal. The Hoops played close to 20 minutes of the game with ten men as James Forrest made a poor challenge to concede a penalty and was given a straight red card.
Here is how the Bhoys fared against Austrian champions.
Craig Gordon 6
Made some good saves but his effort was not enough on the night. Couldn’t have done too much for the goals his side conceded.
Kieran Tierney 6
Had to work hard defensively and hardly got an opportunity to make his overlapping runs.
Jack Hendry 5
Should have done better for the second goal to close down Minamino. Was sucked into challenges often and had a tough time dealing with Salzburg player’s movements.
Dedryck Boyata 5.5
On the aerial front, he gobbled up everything that came his way. Could have done better to defend the second goal as he failed to block the cross from coming in.
Mikael Lustig 4
Was at fault for not putting in a proper challenge and closing down his man which led to the first goal. Had a tough night overall.
Youssouf Mulumbu 5.5
Scott Brown was a big miss in midfield, but Mulumbu showed that he could fill in for him. However, Salzburg were too good on the night and overpowered the Hoops in midfield. Mulumbu had an okayish night overall.
Olivier Ntcham 5
Gave the ball away cheaply on a few occasions. Worked hard but was unable to find his man his man when Celtic won the ball back to start the counter.
James Forrest 4
Almost played as a right back as Celtic were defending in numbers. Lost the ball in the dangerous area which made him pull down his man and conceded a penalty and a red card. Hardly got any chance to run forward.
Callum McGregor 5
Like his other attacking partner, spent most of the game defending. Wasn’t able to turn around the Salzburg defence when he had the ball.
Odsonne Edouard 6
Was deprived of service throughout the game. Did well to score early by outmuscling his man. Could have added a second before halftime if he was smart enough to play Griffiths early.
Leigh Griffiths 5
Just wasn’t the right man for today’s game as he hardly got anything to do while he was up the pitch. Worked hard when he dropped deep and was substituted around the hour mark.
Substitute
Scott Sinclair 6
Rodgers should have started with Sinclair given his pace. Made some good runs but the Hoops were deflated for the most parts of the second half.
Lewis Morgan N/A
Didn’t affect the game much.
Ryan Christie N/A
Didn’t play enough to warrant a rating
