Sparta Prague battered Celtic at Parkhead last night and manager Vaclav Kotal admits the Scottish giants were “easier” opponents than Lille or AC Milan, speaking to iSport.
There’s certainly trouble in Paradise right now.
A dismal run of one win in six games not only has Celtic playing catch up in the Premiership title race while piling the pressure on Neil Lennon, it also means their Europa League hopes hang by a thread, even with three matches remaining.
After losing at home to AC Milan and throwing away a two-goal lead in Lille, the Glasgow giants were humiliated on home soil by a Sparta Prague side missing a host of star players.
Lukas Julis scored a stunning hat-trick as the Czechs cruised to a 4-1 win on Scottish soil, with Shane Duffy’s nightmare in green and white showing no sign of ending.
Kotal certainly did his homework, taking full advantage of Celtic’s tendency to push their full-backs (particularly the rampaging Jeremie Frimpong) high up the pitch, ripping the hosts apart again and again on the counter.
“(The result) was not a coincidence. We watched the opponent closely. We saw a lot of their matches,” Kotal explains. “Tactically, (Sparta’s players) did everything we said.
“It can be seen that, when the boys do their homework, there is an effect.”
To make the result even more humiliating for Celtic, Sparta had been far from impressive in their previous Europa League group games. They picked up zero points from the clashes with Milan and Lille, losing 7-1 on aggregate.
But, according to Kotal, Celtic couldn’t hold a candle to the Frenchmen or the Italians – technically speaking at least.
“Celtic play specifically – everything at maximum speed and emphasis. That’s why I’m glad we chose the right types of players.
“It’s complicated because Celtic play football a little differently to Milan and Lille. It’s faster, but easier. It certainly doesn’t reach such a technical quality as the other teams in the group.”
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