[ad_1]
Celtic remain rooted to the bottom of their Champions League group after they were hammered 6-0 by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
The Hoops were not helped by an early red card for energetic forward Daizen Maeda, after his raised studs gave the referee a decision to make – with the help of VAR.
Antoine Griezmann had made it 1-0 before that point but Brendan Rodgers, despite his side being down to ten, may not be pleased with how easy it seemed for Atletico to open his defence up as they went on to score another five.
Alvaro Morata and Griezmann both collected two goals each, whilst Saul Niguez and Samuel Lino also got themselves on the scoresheet for the hosts.
It would be harsh to single out one player as the reason for the result as it was such a dominant display from Atletico. However, one player, in particular, who must be ditched after this game is centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Japan international has struggled in recent matches and, again, failed to impose himself on the match with an anonymous display at the top end of the pitch.
Kyogo’s performance against Atletico Madrid in numbers
Celtic’s starting number nine could blame the lack of support or service up to him, particularly after Maeda’s sending off, but his lack of involvement through his time on the pitch let Rodgers down.
Across 61 minutes of action against Atletico, the former Vissel Kobe star had just eight touches of the ball in total and made a staggering zero passes from one attempt.
Hoops goalkeeper Joe Hart even had more touches (51) than the striker and the Japanese dynamo’s lack of physicality played a huge part in his struggles as opposition players beat him in 75% (3/4) of his duels.
Hyun-gyu Oh, Rodgers’ alternative number nine option, came on at half-time and completed two passes to go along with winning seven of his nine duels in 45 minutes.
The South Korea international utilised his physicality to provide Celtic with an outlet at the top end of the pitch, which is something that his teammate was unable to do.
The statistics that show why Rodgers could ditch Kyogo
Rodgers must now brutally ditch Kyogo against Aberdeen at the weekend as his recent form, including Tuesday night’s display, has left a lot to be desired.
Over his last three starts in all competitions, the right-footed whiz has played 216 minutes of football and made three passes in total – out of seven attempted.
Along with that, he has failed to contribute with a single goal or assist to make up for his lack of involvement outside of the penalty box, which puts his impact, or lack thereof, on matches in the spotlight.
Statistic |
Kyogo’s last four Celtic appearances (via Sofascore) |
---|---|
Goals |
Zero |
Assists |
Zero |
Passes completed |
11 |
Big chances missed |
Two |
Key passes |
Zero |
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old attacker has been in dismal form in front of goal over the last four matches for the Scottish giants.
He has not provided an attacking threat or a physical presence to bring his teammates into the match and Rodgers must now take him out of the XI in order to start Oh, who showcased his physicality off the bench on Tuesday, against the Dons.
[ad_2]
Source link