Celtic’s captain and leader on the pitch, Callum McGregor, reckons the game against Bayer Leverkusen last night was decided in moments. Celtic suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of a very clinical Leverkusen team under the floodlights on our second Europa League match this season.
McGregor insists that though the result is disappointing to everyone, it was at vital flashpoints during the match that went on to be seminal moments. Speaking to Celtic TV he said: “Yeah, hugely disappointed in terms of the scoreline. To lose four goals in any game is not good enough, especially at Celtic Park . A hard night for us and one we need to learn from.”
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: Florian Wirtz of Bayer 04 Leverkusen scores their side’s second goal past Joe Hart of Celtic during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Celtic FC and Bayer Leverkusen at Celtic Park on September 30, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
“We had loads of spells in the game, where we were top. I thought the game was decided in moments. Big parts of the game were played in our attacking half, and that’s credit to the way we want to play. But, of the same token you need to be switched on when you lose the ball. As a team, we have to defend better.”
“That’s obviously where they caused us problems. We knew they were a good counter-attacking team. Once they opened their legs its very difficult to recover from there. We’ll look at the game back and see where we could’ve done better. In terms of trying to stop those moments.”
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: Lucas Alario of Bayer Leverkusen celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Celtic FC and Bayer Leverkusen at Celtic Park on September 30, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
When asked about his feelings of being back in action for the Club, McGregor said: “Yeah, you know I’m delighted to be back on the grass. Back in the team and trying to help the boys. You know, it’s been a hard couple of weeks. Nobody likes to be sitting out at the side. On a good note, it’s good to get out there and try and help the boys.”
“I said to them in there, it’s so important now that we stick together. We’ll probably get a bit of stick after this game. So it’s important that we stick together. And the only way to bounce back, is we bounce back with a win and a good performance at the weekend. We’ll be fully focused on doing that.”
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: Adam Montgomery and Carl Starfelt of Celtic are seen after Celtic conceded the first goal during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Celtic FC and Bayer Leverkusen at Celtic Park on 30 September, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Celtic need to prepare themselves for an uncomfortable trip to Aberdeen on Sunday. However, with key players returning, league duty should not be as much of a slog as these past few weeks have been.
Watch Callum’s interview after the game below.
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