Three things that stood out in Celtic’s high-scoring defeat to Yokohama F.Marinos
CELTIC warmed up for season 2023-24 with a 6-4 defeat in their first friendly of the Japanese tour - but pre-season can be the funniest of times.
For fans, they often draw conclusions very quickly as they get a first glimpse of how their team might be evolving.
For managers, it’s a time for finding their feet, trying out new tactics or even just trying to avoid injuries before the beginning of the season.
So how did Brendan Rodgers re-find his feet?
Sat in the dugout a few thousand miles from Glasgow, he began his second managerial campaign in front of the Hoops' fans - and found out plenty about his new team.
We picked three elements from Celtic’s high-scoring defeat.
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Communication in Defence
There is no denying that some of the defending in Celtic’s defeat was
questionable.
What was particularly noticeable is the lack of a clear leader in the back line - especially at the first, second and fourth goals conceded.
When Carl Starfelt thought Joe Hart was taking the ball, Hart hesitated, panicked and spilled the ball to allow Anderson Lopes a simple finish.
There were many similarities for the second goal conceded by Celtic.
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Another lack of communication between Starfelt and Taylor left Mizunuma onside, Taylor out of position and Hart one-on-one with the striker.
Between the sticks, Hart nor Siegrest impressed conceding two and four goals respectively.
Arguably, more sympathy would go towards Siegrist as although he conceded more, there wasn’t a particular ‘howler’ and some he had no chance.
Midfield Struggles
The very first goal is a prime example of how Celtic’s midfield weren’t
sharp enough in defence; as the ball is played into Marcos Junior, all
three midfielders (Hatate, O’Riley and McGregor) were passive in their approach which allowed Yokohama’s number 10 time to turn and pick his pass.
We also saw opposition players gifted an abundance of time and space for Yokohama’s second, fourth and sixth goals.
The common theme was allowing the central attacking midfielder to drift into space to receive the ball, turn and thread through a pass.
Attacking Brilliance
Despite some catastrophic goalkeeping and defending, Celtic’s attacking play was on point and there was some excellent free-flowing play between the likes of Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda.
Although Hatate struggled defensively, he still showed an eye for a pass - notably for Maeda’s first goal.
An excellent strike from David Turnbull to round off the game again
demonstrated his ability from long range, as the Scot added to his
collection from distance.
Overall, Celtic might get away with some of these errors in the
Premiership – for example, not being quick enough to close down
playmakers in midfield- but in Europe against players who only need a second on the ball, it could become a problem.
That being said, it is early in the pre-season schedule so players are not yet up to full fitness.
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The mistakes made by the likes of the defence and midfield are easily fixable and avoidable. Some defensive and midfield adjustments are required but generally there are positive signs for Celtic.
Now that Brendan Rodgers has a match under his belt again as Celtic boss, how he looks to progress the squad from this defeat in Yokohama, remains to be seen.
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