Celtic 0-2 Braga: Player ratings + talking points as Hoops humbled on error-strewn night with one woeful 3/10
How we rated the Celtic players in their 2-0 Europa League defeat against SC Braga at Parkhead
Brendan Rodgers declared pre-match “it's not rocket science” why his toothless Celtic team are struggling to score this season - but he might want to sort out the issue sooner rather than later after this latest defeat.
For a second straight home game, the Hoops drew a blank in front of goal. This was another abject display and one that saw the visitors, Braga cruise to a 2-0 victory on matchday two of the Europa League.
Never mind a silent protest, the visitors silenced Parkhead with goals in either half from Ricardo Horta and Gabri Martinez on a night of anguish in Glasgow’s east end.
Celtic Park was slightly subdued and only two thirds full for this early kick-off, with a crowd of just over 46,000 in attendance, including a sprinkling of late arrivals battling through rush hour traffic.
Another pre-planned anti-board silent protest was scrapped by the Celtic Collective after CEO Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay among senior figures to hold talks with representatives of the fan group on Monday amid unrest stemming from a disappointing transfer window.
The Hoops came into this fixture unbeaten in each of their last 11 home games against Portuguese opposition across all competitions. They were facing Braga for just the second time in their history, but in what was a very different atmosphere in comparison to last season’s high-octane Champions League nights.
Despite that, there was plenty of encouraging signs from Rodgers’ men in the opening stages as they looked to press their opponents, who were were determined to play out from the back, high up the pitch and force them into several errors.
Sebastian Tounekti, in particular, posed a constant threat down the right flank and he carved out Celtic’s first chance after 13 minutes with a clever flick into the path of Kelechi Iheanacho. The former Leicester City frontman’s arrowed shot stung the palms of Braga goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček.
Braga were offering little in attack, but out of nothing they managed to open the scoring against the run of play after 20 minutes when skipper Ricardo Horta unleashed a speculative swerving effort from long-range which seemed to bamboozle the flailing Kasper Schmeichel in mid-air and loop over the veteran shot-stopper into the top-right hand corner.
That goal punctured much of early optimism in the stadium and suddenly the visitors were starting to exploit vast amounts of space in behind the Celtic backline with relative ease. Celtic were under the cosh and unable to get a stranglehold on proceedings as supporters began to let out groans in response to a misplaced pass or mistake.
Rodgers faced an important half-time team talk. His side were being out-fought in midfield and looking vulnerable in the wide areas. Braga threatened a second goal at the opening 45 minutes drew to a close.
Florian Grillitsch forced Schmeichel to tip his fierce drive over the crossbar before the midfielder had a further two goal-bound shots blocked as the home side began to live dangerously in their own penalty area.
They were scrambling just to head down the tunnel trailing by one goal and the referee’s whistle was greeted with a chorus of loud boos as supporters let their feelings known.
With the exception of the first 10 minutes, Celtic had been extremely poor and completely fallen out of the match. They were lacking intent in the final third and looked more likely to concede a second rather than haul themselves back on level terms.
Rodgers reverted to a back three at the start of the second half, sacrificing youngster Colby Donovan, who had trusted been to follow-up his outstanding display in Belgrade on matchday one last week but failed to do so. Marcello Saracchi replaced him, with fellow full-back Kieran Tierney - on his 400th career appearance - moving to the left side of the defensive line.
Braga, though, still looked menacing and Moroccan striker Amine El Ouazzani flashed an effort inches wide of the far post.
The momentum then appeared to swing back in Celtic’s favour when Iheanacho latched on to a loose pass, lifted the ball over a defender and steering low into the bottom corner. But VAR intervened and controversially ruled out his superbly taken finish, with it deemed the ball had stuck Iheanacho’s arm in the build-up.
However, TV replays suggested otherwise. Despite that frustrating blow, Celtic Park was re-energised and it took a tremendous last-ditch challenge to prevent Callum McGregor from hitting the target from close-range moments later.
The Hosts were finding their feet again as the game started to open up with play raging from end-to-end. Tierney saw a back-post header saved brilliantly by Horníček before Arne Engels and the returning Reo Hatate entered the fray.
Horníček then produced another spectacular save to deny the lively Tounekti's ferocious effort from curling into the bottom corner. As the clock continued to tick down, centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers headed an Engels corner narrowly wide of the target.
But any hope of a late comeback was extinguished with six minutes remaining with Braga doubled their lead. It was a calamitous goal to lose from a Celtic standpoint. Schmeichel initially made a good save from before a game of pinball ensued in the box with substitue Dane Murray’s clearance deflecting of Gabri Martinez and into the net.
Fans headed for the exits in their droves. This was sobering stuff as the small band of travelling fans, clad in red and white, away to the right soaked up the celebrations.
Here, GlasgowWorld breaks down three main talking points from the game and how the Celtic players fared:
Schmeichel endures horror night to forget
The Danish international is usually incredibly reliable, but on this occasion the 38-year-old raised eyebrows with a woeful performance between the sticks. He made a number of high-profile mistakes and looked shaky with the ball at his feet.
He won’t want to watch Braga’s opening goal back anytime soon. Yes, Horta’s strike from distance was pretty special, but it didn’t exactly fly into the top corner and Schmeichel got nowhere near it. He should’ve done far better and never really recovered thereafter.
Forgotten man Bernardo unable to build on bright start
The Portuguese midfielder has been somewhat of a forgotten figure among the Celtic ranks for much of the early part of the season. He was given a surprise runout against his fellow compatriots and started brightly, but that quickly fizzled out when he allowed Horta to wriggle free too easily before letting fly and scoring from 30 yards.
Bernardo tired midway through the second half, with his lack of game time clearly having an impact. But he could be given more opportunities going forward if Celtic’s midfield fails to fire.
European hangover continues
Celtic stumbled into Europe’s second-tier competition after falling short in their attempts to qualify for the Champions League. Many punters fancy their chances of advancing far in the Europa League, but on this evidence that’s seems highly unlikely.
They were outplayed at times by a team sitting seventh in the Portuguese top-flight. Braga are undoubtedly a decent outfit as they proved here but they’re far from an elite European side and the manner of this abject home defeat will sting Rodgers and his players.
GK - Kasper Schmeichel (3/10)
RB - Colby Donovan (5/10)
LCB - Liam Scales (6/10)
CM - Callum McGregor (4/10)
CM - Paulo Bernardo (5/10)
CM - Benjamin Nygren (5/10)
LCF - Sebastian Tounekti (7/10)
RCF - Daizen Maeda (5/10)
ST - Kelechi Iheanacho (6/10)