The Hoops shipped four goals at Parkhead to exit the tournament at the hands of Cluj and Bhoys legend Bonner was not pleased.
Celtic legend Pat Bonner has criticised the Hoops for their Champions League elimination at the hands of CFR Cluj, stating that the “defensive structure wasn’t there” in the second leg of their third qualifying round tie (BBC Sport).
The Bhoys were weak at the back, shipping four goals to the Romanian champions at Parkhead to lose 4-3 on the night and exit the competition 5-4 on aggregate, Neil Lennon stating after the game that his side “threw it away” due to conceding “crazy” goals (BBC Sport).
Celtic overcame a wobbly start in the second leg, in which they trailed 2-1 behind on aggregate at half-time thanks to Cirpian Deac’s header, to seemingly turn the tie around with goals from James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard.
However, Billel Omrani’s penalty then gave Cluj the lead on away goals with 16 minutes left, and although Ryan Christie edged the Hoops back in front, Omrani and George Tucudean struck again to condemn Celtic to a humiliating elimination.
“To lose four goals…you can play as well as you like offensively, but you cannot lose the type of goals Celtic lost in European competition,” Celtic legend Bonner told BBC Sportsound.
“That defensive structure wasn’t there for Celtic. I’m really disappointed for them because there are a lot of good, young, creative players in there who played very well at times tonight. They’re knocked out of another competition that they should be performing in.”
The elimination means Celtic drop into the Europa League qualifiers and will come up against either Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova or Sweden’s AIK over two legs for a place in the group stage.
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