Celtic had a game to forget on Thursday evening, as Neil Lennon’s side slumped to an embarrassing defeat in the Europa League.
The Scottish Premiership giants were expected to pick up all three points against Sparta Prague at Celtic Park, but the home team went down 4-1.
It was one of the worst performances from the Hoops in recent years, but one player came out with some credit.
Impressive Diego Laxalt
That was Diego Laxalt, signed on loan from Italian giants AC Milan in the summer of 2020.
The 27-year-old left-back played well defensively and was a big attacking threat down the left.
The Uruguay international, who can also operate as a left-winger, worked hard and gave everything on the pitch.
According to WhoScored, Laxalt had a pass accuracy of 70.7%, won two headers, took 83 touches, attempted two dribbles, made three tackles and two clearances, and put in four crosses.
Laxalt’s performance impressed some Celtic fans on Twitter as well as Alan Stubbs, who predicted the left-back to be a big player for the club.
The former Celtic central defender was on co-commentary duty for the match on BT Sport 2, and in the opening minutes he praised him.
Alan Stubbs’s take
Stubbs said about Laxalt in the 10th minute: “A lot of the times he doesn’t have to make tackles because he is so aggressive. He looks to put as much pressure on the opposition defenders and midfield players as he can.
“I have been really impressed by him since he has come in. He’s obviously very attack-minded, but in terms of his final third and balls into the box, he is going to be a great addition to Celtic.”
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