Home » Teams » Celtic FC » “Feel free to leave”, “Embarrassing”: Some Celtic fans tear star man apart after painful 2-0 loss to Valencia + Match report

“Feel free to leave”, “Embarrassing”: Some Celtic fans tear star man apart after painful 2-0 loss to Valencia + Match report

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Celtic 0-2 Valencia: Hoops go behind in the tie after dreadful night

Celtic have a huge mountain to climb to qualify for the Europa League round of 16 after losing 2-0 at home to Valencia on Thursday night.

Denis Cheryshev broke the deadlock for Valencia just before the half-time whistle and Ruben Sobrino doubled their lead four minutes after the restart.

Celtic came into this game on the back of seven victories; no team had scored against Brendan Rodgers’ side this year. Nonetheless, a team that is normally so dominant at home were curiously so flat for larger periods of the game.

But Rodgers’ side started the game strongly, enjoying a good early spell of possession. Callum McGregor raced through the midfield, dodging past a couple of Valencia players and tested goalkeeper Neto with a low drive before Ryan Christie had a pop at the visitors’ goal. After the spell of early pressure was combated by Valencia, Celtic found themselves forced onto the back foot for lengthy spells.

Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain was called into action for the first time, in the 18th minute, producing an acrobatic save to deny a Daniel Wass header that seemed destined for the top corner. But their run of seven consecutive cleansheets came to an end just before half-time. Daniel Parejo slipped in a wonderful pass behind the hosts’ backline to Ruben Sobrino, who unselfishly cut the ball back for Denis Cheryshev to tap in.

The goal before half-time gave Valencia confidence and they doubled their money three minutes after the break. Francis Coquelin, who replaced Parejo at half-time, won a 50/50 challenge in the opposition half and fed Wass, who spread the ball on the left to Cheryshev. Cheryshev sent a delicious cross from the left for the unmarked Sobrino to volley through Bain’s legs.

The home side were rattled and Rodgers responded by sending on Odsonne Edouard and Timothy Weah. Despite the Hoops trying their level best in the last 20 minutes, Neto barely had a save to make as Valencia defended without any major concerns.

Read more: Why Celtic should complete a permanent deal for 21-year-old Scot in the summer

Disappointed with the 2-0 loss to Valencia, here’s how Celtic fans reacted on Twitter: