Celtic’s fairly horrendous European run is lastly over as Ange Postecoglou’s facet had been thrashed and ruthlessly tossed apart by one of many recreation’s elite on Wednesday night.
The Hoops travelled to the Spanish capital to face 14-time winners of the Champions League, Actual Madrid, and the outcome was fairly as anticipated.
They misplaced 5-1 in a weird recreation that noticed three penalties given, two to the hosts and one for the guests. Clearly susceptible on the again, Celtic as soon as once more struggled in an attacking capability too with Kyogo Furuhashi fairly nameless up prime as his skill to complete possibilities was questioned once more.
The Bhoys didn’t precisely assist themselves although, with Josip Juranovic lacking from the spot firstly of the second half.
It was an exquisite alternative for Postecoglou’s males to get again within the tie however the Croat’s penalty kick was at a pleasant peak for Thibaut Courtois to avoid wasting.
That second wasn’t Juranovic’s best in Celtic colors however there have been loads of different faces on the staff who struggled simply as a lot. One among them occurred to be Aaron Mooy who regarded wildly out of his depth in the course of the park.
It was the Aussie’s very first begin within the Champions League and it wouldn’t be a shock if it was his final. Slated for what was a “tragic” contact within the first half by the Celtic Bhoys, the Athletic’s Owen Brown instructed it was a “perplexing” determination by the supervisor to even choose him within the first place.
That evaluation is spot on, as Celtic’s central areas had been utterly outsmarted and given the run-around by Actual.
Mooy performed his half in that with the 32-year-old struggling considerably. He misplaced the ball eight instances from his 45 touches of the ball and didn’t win a single floor duel all night time. Contemplating simply how a lot possession Madrid had within the recreation (65%), it meant the Australia worldwide was utterly ineffective.
From an attacking viewpoint, the previous Huddersfield man was a mere spectator, failing to produce a key move or have a shot throughout his 63 minutes on the sector.
It was a efficiency that might have massive ramifications for Mooy. With David Turnbull and Oliver Abildgaard respiratory over his shoulder, he could not maintain his place within the facet.
It’s additionally a disappointing sighter of how he might fare at this month’s World Cup. Often an everyday for the Socceroos, he would possibly battle in matches the place his staff doesn’t see a lot of the ball. One of many groups in Australia’s group is France and if he performs how he did tonight, his nation gained’t stand a lot of an opportunity in that specific encounter.
In fact, the World Cup tends to trigger an upset however Mooy’s efficiency on the Bernabeu final night time shouldn’t simply be a warning signal to Postecoglou, it needs to be one for Graham Arnold too, his supervisor at worldwide stage.
Within the harshest phrases potential, it was a fairly ‘tragic’ night time for the skilled midfielder.