Chris Sutton was critical of Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi during co-commentary on BT Sport on Tuesday night, as the Hoops only managed a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk – and were knocked out of Europe by the Ukrainians.
Celtic needed a win to keep against Shakhtar to keep their hopes of European football after Christmas alive. There was no chance of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages. But third place means Europa League football.
Giorgos Giakoumakis opened the scoring for Celtic in the first half, slamming the ball into the bottom corner from eight yards. But the in-demand Mykhaylo Mudryk equalised, powering an effort into the top corner of Joe Hart’s goal.
On 63 minutes, Sead Haksabanovic set £18,000-a-week Kyogo through on goal. The Japan international had to take the shot first time, and his effort was “tame” – according to Sutton. His shot hit the goalkeeper and bounced free.
“Kyogo has missed some chances in the Champions League this season, but that’s a really tame effort. He had more time than he thought he did, he could have taken a touch,” Sutton said, during the second half on BT Sport.
Sutton critical of Celtic star Kyogo during commentary on Tuesday night
The 27-year-old has been magnificent for Celtic since joining the club. Boasting 48 appearances, he has 28 goals and six assists. He has eight goals in 15 this term, but his form in the Champions League has been noticeably bad.
Featuring in all five of Celtic’s Champions League matches, starting the last four, Kyogo has failed to provide a single goal involvement. It might be that Kyogo has found his level, his limit. But that is not to say he has not had chances.
Matt O’Riley spoke about the anxiety of playing in the Champions League. He says his teammates would have scored chances they got on Tuesday night, if they were in domestic football. Perhaps, it is something Kyogo needs to work on.
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