Gustaf Lagerbielke coming on to the park at Old Trafford in the closing stages of the game to help FC Twente nail down a draw against Manchester United in the Europa League
Who would have thought it? No-one who had ever watched the Swedish defender play in a Celtic jersey, that’s for sure. Brendan Rodgers said two weeks ago he felt he was the “most ready” he had ever been as Celtic’s manager for the Champions League.
By that time he had approved Lagerbielke’s loan move to the Netherlands and spent six million pounds on acquiring American centre-back Auston Trusty from Sheffield United during the last days of the transfer window. Brendan now needs supportive evidence he let the right player go out the door, and that his replacement in the squad can cope with the psychological demands Lagerbielke handled against Erik Ten Hag’s side on Wednesday night.
And the need to know takes on more crucial importance if Cameron Carter Vickers, an absentee against St Johnstone, fails to make the game against last season’s losing Champions League finalists in Germany. I would go so far as to say the loss of Carter Vickers is pivotal where the outcome of the match is concerned, because Trusty has never known an examination of his capabilities at this exalted level.
Ever since this season’s Champions League draw was made, I have thought four home wins for Celtic was a possibility. Likewise the chance of four defeats on the road. If that did happen then qualification for the next phase of the competition would be, analytics being all the rage at the minute, a data based certainty.
But, at the same time, it wouldn’t be easy on the eye, or sit comfortably on the mind, if hidings were administered on a regular basis in the away matches.
Starting with Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday night. There was so much reputational damage done during the Premier Sports Cup tie eventually won against Falkirk last Sunday Rodgers must have developed repetitive strain syndrome clicking his pen on and off to write down the names of those who were suspect in his pocket notebook.
Alex Valle? Barcelona might be his parent club but he can’t defend. Trusty? Trusty by name but worryingly unsteady at first glance. Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh? Next question. Maik Nawrocki? Cost millions. Can’t get a game ahead of Welsh. Luis Palma? Doesn’t fit the Celtic model, as the January transfer window will show. That’s a chunk of names to question the concept of Celtic now having sufficient strength in depth to cope with European and domestic challenges simultaneously.
The game is about levels and Celtic are not yet at the level where they can approach Dortmund with anything resembling unarguable confidence regarding the outcome of the game. The five-one win over Slovan Bratislava in Celtic’s opening tie of the competition was a high water mark for Rodgers and his players, but they need, first and foremost, to avoid drowning in Deutschland.
The object of the exercise in Germany is to get a commendable result that doesn’t deflate the bubble of positivity blown up on the back of results to date in their own country. No exception should be taken to that assessment of the situation. Foreign soil is, historically, barren land for Celtic in the Champions League, but home has the capacity for cultivating growth on their behalf.
On that basis Cameron Carter Vickers becomes just as important as Arne Engels against Dortmund. If the defensive mainstay plays there is greater security at the back. When he doesn’t, such as the game last Sunday, there is an inclination towards nervous anxiety. It’s one thing to be tentative and error prone against Falkirk, begging manager John McGlynn’s pardon.
Being jittery in Germany is another matter altogether.