Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph was left perplexed on Thursday night by the Celtic team selection made by Ange Postecoglou.
The Hoops crashed out of the Europa Conference League last night having been on the end of another damning defeat by Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
Did Ange get it wrong against Bodo/Glimt?
Yes
No
Celtic were emphatically beaten in the first leg in front of the Parkhead crowd as the Norwegian champions took a 3-1 lead into Thursday night’s clash.
However, despite the deficit, Joseph did not feel the tie was decided going into the second leg, with the away goals rule, now scrapped by UEFA, not in operation.
But with a big game on the weekend in the Scottish Premiership against Hibernian on the horizon, the Australian manager made a number of changes to his starting XI.
Jota only made the bench and with the tie all-but put to bed in the early minutes of the game, he did not make an appearance, with the weekend clearly on Postecoglou’s mind.
“The tie wasn’t dead last week – especially with no away goal rule. Celtic’s team selection was strange & they got what they were asking for tonight. Embarrassing tie overall,” said Joseph on Twitter.
“Context is important, though – Ange Postecoglou is building for a greater good & the signs are there.”
TIF Thoughts on Joseph’s comments…
We absolutely agree with Joesph in the sense of the tie not being over going into the game on Thursday night, with the new rules meaning Bodo/Glimt’s three away goals did not count under the old ruling.
And it was certainly a night to forget the Hoops, with the hosts posing more of an attacking threat on the night, with seven shots on target to Celtic’s two.
But as Joseph said, although being dumped out of Europe may be disappointing, the domestic treble remains a real possibility for the Bhoys and that will certainly be their target for the remainder of the season.
In other news: ‘I don’t know why’ – BBC pundit baffled by what he spotted Celtic star doing