Celtic failed to do enough to strengthen their defence in the January transfer window.
Brendan Rodgers comments about his side’s defending last night, show exactly where Celtic failed in the January transfer window.
Celtic were knocked out of the Europa League, after putting in an awful performance against Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia.
Celtic travelled to St. Petersburg protecting a 1-0 advantage from the first-leg, but they were thoroughly outplayed during the tie.
The Bhoys could not get near their Russian hosts, as their defence folded.
Kristoffer Ajer and Kieran Tierney arguably came out of the game with some credit, but Mikael Lustig and Dorus de Vries both seriously struggled.
And Rodgers said:”Defensively, we lacked aggression, in particular in the first half. We didn’t close the space quickly enough.”
The problem for Celtic is that their defensive problems were all far too predictable.
Celtic did bring in Marvin Compper in January, but they did not do enough to strengthen their backline or goalkeeping options.
Rodgers has known Celtic had defensive issues, and has spoken about it all season.
But the Bhoys lack of activity and ambition in January has ultimately cost them their place in Europe, as with some more quality at the back they may well have progressed against Zenit.
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