The Scottish Premiership side were thrashed by the Catalan giants.
Barcelona’s Jordi Alba in action with Celtic’s Cristian Gamboa
Davie Hay has suggested to the Evening Times that Brendan Rodgers made a poor decision selecting Cristian Gamboa for Celtic’s Champions League group-stage opener against Barcelona.
The 26-year-old only joined the Hoops during the summer window, and had not made an appearance for the club ahead of the clash in the Nou Camp.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
Nevertheless, Rodgers felt confident enough to throw him in as part of a back five – with Gamboa and Kieran Tierney playing as wing-backs – but had to look on as Barca inflicted the Hoops’ heaviest defeat in Europe with a 7-0 win.
And Hay has pinpointed Gamboa’s selection as a key reason why the La Liga side strolled to such an emphatic victory.
“I thought the balance of the team was all wrong going into the game against the Catalans. The three at the back didn’t work because the right-back, Cristian Gamboa just wasn’t ready for a game of that magnitude,” he told the Evening Times.
“It was a massive game for him to be asked to go into his debut in and the fact that so many of their early goals came down that flank showed you how vulnerable Celtic were there.”
It is possible that many Celtic supporters were taken by surprise when they saw the Costa Rican in the starting line-up on Tuesday.
Gamboa had not only not played for the Scottish Premiership side before the game, but he had not played a club game since West Brom’s FA Cup clash with League One side Peterborough in February, so it is surprising that Rodgers felt that he would have the sharpness to cope with what Luis Enrique’s men would throw at them.
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