Celtic are currently ranked 27th out of 36 teams in the league phase of the Europa League after they lost 3-1 to Danish side FC Midtjylland on Thursday night.
The Hoops endured a dismal opening 45 minutes of football, in which they gave up 15 shots against their goal, and went into the break 3-0 down to their hosts.
It was the first loss suffered by Martin O’Neill during his time as the interim head coach of the Scottish giants, after he won his first two games against Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership and Rangers in the League Cup semi-finals.
On top of it being a disappointing performance and result, Celtic will also be frustrated to have lost Callum Osmand to a hamstring injury late on in the second half.
The teenage centre-forward, who won the penalty that Reo Hatate scored from, pulled up when chasing a ball over the top and is now facing a spell on the sidelines.
As well as being frustrated by Osmand’s injury, O’Neill will surely be frustrated by several of the performances that were on display from some of his players on Thursday night.
Celtic's worst performers against Midtjylland
Of the players who started the Europa League clash in Denmark, it is hard to argue against Anthony Ralston being the pick of the bunch when looking at the biggest underperformers.
The Scotland international was caught out for the first two goals as he was given the run-around by 19-year-old winger Mikel Gogorza, who beat him easily to cross for the opener and to score the second goal.
Ralston, as shown in the clip above, allowed the teenage forward to cut inside in the box to get his shot away with ease, as he was barely able to put any pressure on the shot.
The Scottish full-back was not the only player who struggled, though, as Football FanCast published an article explaining why Callum McGregor, who failed to win a single duel or tackle in midfield, was also among the worst performers.
Minutes
45
69
Shots
0
1
Shots on target
0
0
Key passes
0
0
Dribbles completed
0
0
Pass accuracy
73%
83%
Duels won
1/5
2/7
Johnny Kenny and Benjamin Nygren, as shown in the statistics above, also produced underwhelming performances as the starting centre-forward and attacking midfielder on Thursday night.
They were tasked with providing a threat at the top end of the pitch from the start of the match, but neither of them were able to register a single shot on target or key pass.
However, Nygren produced one goal and one assist and Kenny scored three goals in O’Neill’s first two matches in the dugout at Parkhead, which shows that they can offer far more than they did against the Danish side earlier this week.
Meanwhile, a player who came off the bench in the 3-1 loss in the Europa League may be on borrowed time in Glasgow, as he was even worse than both Nygren and Kenny.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Paulo Bernardo was brought onto the pitch for Arne Engels with 16 minutes left to play and his cameo against Midtjylland did little to suggest that he deserves more minutes on the pitch moving forward.
Why Paulo Bernardo may be on borrowed time at Celtic
The Portugal U21 international only played 74 minutes out of a possible 810 in the nine Scottish Premiership matches that Brendan Rodgers was in charge of at the start of the season, per Sofascore.
This shows that the former Benfica central midfielder did not get too many opportunities to shine under the Northern Irish head coach, which is why his resignation from the club appeared to be a fresh start for Bernardo.
Unfortunately, though, he was an unused substitute in the 4-0 win against Falkirk and was not selected to be part of the matchday squad for the clash with Rangers in the League Cup, before playing 16 minutes off the bench on Thursday night.
Midtjylland
16
Falkirk
0
Hearts
0
Sturm Graz
0
Motherwell
0
Braga
67
Hibernian
16
Red Star Belgrade
0
Partick Thistle
59
Kilmarnock
0
Bernardo has been a bit-part player for the Scottish giants this season, as shown by the statistics above, and has played fewer minutes in all competitions than McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Nygren, and Luke McCowan, who have all been preferred ahead of him in the middle of the park, per Transfermarkt.
The Portuguese whiz needed to make the most of his 16 minutes of action to impress on Thursday night, to prove that he deserves more game time, but his performance was even worse than Kenny and Nygren’s.
Minutes
16
Key passes
0
Passes completed
2/6 (33%)
Touches
7
Possession lost
5x
Ground duels won
0/2
Aerial duels won
0/3
As you can see in the table above, Bernardo lost the ball five times from seven touches of the ball in his time on the pitch, which is a dismal ratio that will not have pleased O’Neill watching on.
The ex-Benfica man also lost 100% of his five duels for the Hoops, whilst Nygren and Kenny at least won a duel each, as he failed to provide any physicality in midfield.
Bernardo, who was awarded a 4/10 player rating by 67HailHail, struggled in and out of possession in his 16 minutes off the bench, which could leave O’Neill wondering whether to reward him with any minutes against Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Sunday.
The 23-year-old flop, who played 28 matches in the Premiership in the 2024/25 campaign, may be on borrowed time in Glasgow unless he can turn things around and earn himself a regular place in the XI before January.
0 tackles, 0 duels won: Celtic man was just as bad as Ralston v Midtjylland
Celtic’s season reached a new nadir with defeat in Denmark on Thursday night.
ByRobbie Walls
If it gets to the January transfer window and the midfielder is still a bit-part player who is rarely getting minutes on the pitch, a decision may have to be made on his future at the club.
