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Trivia
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UEFA Europa League Round of 32 Second Leg
- First leg lost 2-0 at home; agg 3-0 defeat so out of Europe
- 6pm kick-off (UK time). 7pm in Spain. Early one.
- Videos released showing heavy handed tactics with Spanish police attacking Celtic supporters night before the match.
- Toljan red card and Scott Brown yellow card in first half killed off the chances as Celtic were very good for long period till those bookings. Unlucky not to get anything from this game.
- Some great saves by Bain who is growing as a goalkeeper.
- Celtic to this game have never as of yet won in Spain.
- Interesting instructions prior to the game to travelling fans: Don't go to Stadium if No Ticket Be there at least 1 hr pre KO if you have ticket There will be cordons and searches No Large Bags No Banners or Clothing with word ULTRA on No Pyro Enjoy yirsel.; however note, does seem a bit daft mate but they seem to have an issue with Ultras groups in Spain at the moment so probably avoids any problems for fans.
- New signing Vakoun Issouf Bayo as expected been omitted from The Celtic squad to play Valencia in the Europa League. Under UEFA rules Celtic were entitled to add three new players to the squad for this round of 32 knock-out round and Brendan Rodgers today opted to include the three loan signings Oli Burke, Timo Weah and Jerry Toljan.
- France Football magazine have compiled a list of the 30 biggest clubs on the planet. Judged over 10 factors, Celtic came 21st (Barca & Real Madrid on top).
- France Football: Clubs with the biggest mythical status, Celtic came 10th. Decided by a group of France Football journalists. Ajax came top because of their legends on the bench and on the pitch.
- Kilmarnock manager after defeat to Sevco: Steve Clarke issued a scathing denunciation of “dark ages west of Scotland” sectarianism after he had chants of “sad Fenian b*****d” directed at him at Ibrox last night. The Kilmarnock boss boiled over when asked about the abuse meted out to him by Rangers fans. “It’s nice being back in the west of Scotland – really nice,” he said sarcastically. “When I was approached by Rangers about taking the job here I was assured, ‘nah, we don’t have that in the west of Scotland anymore and it had gone’. Hahaha. They can call me a b*****d or w****r but to call me a Fenian b*****d? Come on. “We’re living in the dark ages. They’re not allowed to call my assistant a black B but they can call me a Fenian b*****d. Is that correct? What are we doing in Scotland?”
Review
Spanish journalist Cayetano Ros: “At the end of the meeting the Celtic fans, and despite the elimination, continued to sing and cheer their players as if football, in fact, was just an excuse to be happy. No defeat takes away that happiness."
Stephen O'Donnell: "Long second half but Celtic were as good tonight as they were bad last week"
Jamie Langfield (Official account of @saintmirrenfc Goalkeeping Coach): "Scott Bain was once my boot boy, now performing heroics on European stage. Unbelievable work stevie Woods has done with him and a great goalkeeping department they have at Celtic."
@AgentScotland: "Excellent first half from Celtic, were controlling the game and playing some confident football until Toljan's got red card finally allowed Valencia to get a grip of it. Hard to see them getting any kind of positive result now. Bain's two saves have been outrageously good."
Teams
Valencia
13Murara Neto
18Wass Substituted forLeeat 76'minutes
24Garay Substituted forCoquelinat 23'minutes
12DiakhabyBooked at 53mins
15Latorre Grueso
20Torres
8Soler
10Parejo
7Gonçalo Guedes
22Mina Lorenzo
23Sobrino Substituted forGameiroat 68'minutes
Substitutes
1Doménech
9Gameiro
11Cheryshev
14Gayá
16Lee
17Coquelin
32Centelles
- Gameiro (70' minutes)
Celtic
29Bain
2ToljanBooked at 37mins, sent off 37 mins second yellow
35Ajer
20Boyata
5Simunovic
15HayesBooked at 58mins
49Forrest Substituted forEdouardat 63'minutes
8BrownBooked at 24mins
42McGregor
17Christie
25Burke Substituted forJohnstonat 73'minutes
Substitutes
1Gordon
3Izaguirre
11Sinclair
22Edouard
23Lustig
30Weah
73Johnston
Referee: Deniz Aytekin
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Stats
Possession
Home55%
Away45%
Shots
Home15
Away13
Shots on Target
Home6
Away2
Corners
Home7
Away2
Fouls
Home10
Away12
Articles
Valencia 1 – 0 Celtic (3-0 agg): Ten-man Celtic fight bravely in Mestalla
Jeremy Toljan receives his second yellow card during the first half. Picture: AP
Stephen Halliday
Published: 19:49 Thursday 21 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/valencia-1-0-celtic-3-0-agg-ten-man-celtic-fight-bravely-in-mestalla-1-4877179
Celtic made a predictable but nonetheless frustrating exit from the Europa League as tournament specialist Kevin Gameiro’s second half goal saw Valencia complete an ultimately convincing aggregate victory in their last 32 tie.
READ MORE – Valencia 1 – 0 Celtic: How the Celtic players rated
But Brendan Rodgers and his players were left to reflect on whether the evening might have panned out differently had their on-loan Borussia Dortmund full-back Jeremy Toljan not been sent off eight minutes from the end of a first half in which the Scottish champions had hinted at the possibility of recording their first ever victory in Spain.
The second of the yellow cards Toljan picked up in quick succession from his German compatriot, referee Deniz Aytekin, was certainly of the contentious variety. It fatally undermined Celtic’s admirable attempt to somehow overturn their 2-0 first leg deficit.
French striker Gameiro, a four-time Europa League winner with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, struck just two minutes after his introduction from the bench to wrap up Valencia’s place in the last 16 draw.
In seeking a change of fortune for Celtic on Spanish soil, there was a change of shape from Rodgers. His team were deployed in a 5-4-1 formation, with Toljan and Jonny Hayes either side of a three-man central defence, which was intended to switch fluidly to a 3-4-3 whenever the visitors had attacking possession.
It was a strategy which worked encouragingly well until the dismissal of Toljan scuppered Rodgers’ best laid plans. Before Toljan’s departure, Celtic passed the ball with composure and accuracy on the slick Mestalla playing surface. Hayes, in particular, had plenty of scope to push forward and he provided the first evidence of his team’s belief the tie was far from over.
Surging down the left in the fourth minute, Hayes jinked his way beyond a couple of challenges before drilling in a low cross-***-shot which Valencia ‘keeper Neto held confidently.
More enterprising play from Hayes six minutes later saw him force a corner which Ryan Christie swung in to the edge of the six yard box. The ball fell for Kristoffer Ajer whose first shot was blocked by Daniel Wass before he blazed his follow-up attempt off target.
As heartened as Rodgers would be by the manner of his team’s approach, he would have been alarmed by the slackness which presented Valencia with their first real opening. The Celtic boss had stressed the need to cut out the unforced errors which proved so costly in the first leg but Dedryck Boyata was guilty of exactly that in the 16th minute.
The Belgian defender’s underhit pass was pounced on by Ruben Sobrino who raced clear down the right but, to Celtic’s relief, was unable to pick out Goncalo Guedes with his cross.
Oliver Burke, so often an isolated figure for Celtic in the first leg, found more opportunities here to test the Valencia defence with his pace. The on-loan West Brom forward caused real alarm in the home ranks with a sprint into the penalty area where his shot was blocked by Ezequiel Garay. The Valencia defender’s effort to cover Burke’s break came at the cost of what looked like a hamstring injury and he was replaced by Francis Coquelin.
Toljan’s fateful first yellow card came in the 26th minute as a consequence of another short pass from Boyata which left the full-back with little option but to pull back Lato as the Valencia player pounced on the error and was poised to race clear into the penalty area.
Valencia 1 – 0 Celtic: How the Celtic players rated
Six Celtic fans arrested in Valencia ahead of Europa League clash
Boyata’s moments of poor concentration aside, Celtic remained compact and progressive. Another raid from Burke saw him lay the ball back for Christie whose shot was deflected wide by Carlos Soler.
James Forrest then carved out space on the right to float over a cross which found its way to the unmarked Hayes at the far post. It was Celtic’s clearest sight of goal yet but Hayes sliced his left foot shot wide of Neto’s right hand post.
The home fans were becoming increasingly disgruntled by their team’s display but Celtic’s hopes of building on the promising pattern of the match from their perspective diminished when Toljan received his second yellow card eight minutes before the interval, again found wrong side of his opponent as he stopped a burst forward by Guedes.
Celtic reshaped themselves into a 4-4-1 formation but Valencia stepped up the tempo and Scott Bain had to make two excellent saves to keep the scoreline goalless at half-time. The Celtic ‘keeper changed direction with supreme alertness to touch over a shot from Daniel Parejo which took a deflection off Brown, then denied Santi Mina’s powerful shot with an equally impressive one-handed save.
Valencia were very much in the ascendancy at the start of the second half and, as they built up a head of steam, Jozo Simunovic had to clear off the line after Mina cut in from the left and stabbed the ball beyond the advancing Bain.
Celtic were understandably finding it far more difficult to engineer attacking situations but they should have given themselves a glimmer of hope in the 62nd minute. Christie’s free-kick from the right picked out Ajer on the edge of the six yard box but the Norwegian international spurned a glorious chance as he headed over.
Eight minutes later, any lingering prospect of an unlikely salvage job from Celtic evaporated when Valencia broke the deadlock on the night and extended their aggregate lead. Gameiro, who had only just replaced Sobrino, got on the end of a cushioned header into his path from Wass and while his shot wasn’t the cleanest he has ever struck, it was sufficient to find a way through Bain.
VALENCIA: Neto, Wass (Lee 76), Garay (Coquelin 23), Diakhaby, Lato; Torres, Soler, Parejo, Guedes; Sobrino (Gameiro 68), Mina. Subs not used: Domenech, Cheryshev, Gaya, Centelles.
CELTIC: Bain, Toljan, Boyata, Ajer, Simunovic, Hayes; Forrest (Edouard 63), McGregor, Brown, Christie; Burke (Johnston 73). Subs not used: Gordon, Izaguirre, Sinclair, Lustig, Weah.
By Alasdair Lamont at the Mestalla
BBC Scotland
From the section Europa League 77
Jeremy Toljan
Celtic's Jeremy Toljan, centre, was dismissed eight minutes before the break
Celtic's Europa League campaign ended at the last-32 stage for the second successive season as they were knocked out by Valencia.
Their task in the second leg always looked formidable, given they had never overturned a two-goal deficit away from home, nor had they won in Spain.
A creditable first-half performance was marred by Jeremy Toljan's dismissal for twice pulling back Goncalo Guedes.
And Celtic finally conceded when Kevin Gameiro forced home from close range.
While the Glasgow side were passive last week at Celtic Park, they were far more aggressive at the Mestalla.
Jonny Hayes shot over for the visitors, while Kristoffer Ajer also went close with the game still goalless.
'Toljan red took game away from Celtic'
'Celtic didn't work the keeper over two legs' – reaction
Unbeaten runs & coefficient climbing – Scotland's surge in Europe
Hopes faded with Toljan exit
It would be stretching it to suggest Toljan's red card was a pivotal point in the tie, with Valencia well in command following their 2-0 win at Celtic Park last week.
But Celtic had at least given them food for thought, with a 3-4-3 formation offering a much more solid look and their use of the ball far improved.
Ajer had a goalbound shot blocked and Jozo Simunovic's header was comfortably saved as Celtic searched for the opening goal that would bring the tie alive. Ajer would also bullet a glorious header over the bar later in the match with the game still goalless.
But their faint hopes of recovery vanished as Toljan was punished twice in quick succession for dragging Guedes down after allowing him to get goal-side.
That prompted Valencia to waken from their slumbers and Scott Bain saved brilliantly twice before half-time – keeping out a Daniel Parejo shot that had deflected off Ryan Christie, then tipping away Santi Mina's net-bound effort.
He and the rest of the Celtic defence stood firm for 25 minutes of the second half in the face of increasing pressure before finally buckling.
Guedes' fabulous diagonal ball from the left was headed into the six-yard box by the advanced full-back Daniel Wass, and Gameiro – only just on the field – bundled it through the legs of Bain with his knee.
The Celtic keeper was called upon twice more before the end but that was as damaging as it got for Celtic, though the principal wounds were inflicted in Glasgow a week ago.
Kris Ajer
Kris Ajer spurned a headed chance minutes before Valencia scored
Tangible progress in Europe no closer – analysis
Just as overcoming Zenit St Petersburg last season proved a bridge too far for Brendan Rodgers' side, the team sitting ninth in La Liga were also too good for the Scottish champions.
While they continue to sweep away all before them domestically – with a treble treble still a possibility – tangible progress on the European front looks no closer.
Certainly, there is a financial disparity between Zenit, Valencia and Celtic, but the same was true when both Glasgow clubs reached the final of the Uefa Cup.
Both Martin O'Neill and Walter Smith found ways to overcome teams like Liverpool and Werder Bremen, outdoing them tactically, maximising the undoubted talent in their squads.
Celtic, in three seasons under Rodgers, have yet to claim a really noteworthy scalp.
Match stats
Celtic have not won a knockout away game in Europe since beating Boavista 1-0 in April 2003, losing eight of their nine games since. They have also failed to score on all nine occasions
They have never won away from home against a Spanish side (P18 W0 D3 L15), losing to Valencia three times.
Celtic have failed to score in consecutive European games for the first time since September 2016.
Toljan was the second Celtic player to receive a red card in this season's Europa League after James Forrest's sending-off against Red Bull Salzburg in October