Originally published at: Brendan Rodgers reacts as Celtic lose Japan Tour opener to Yokohama F Marinos
Today marked the first real test for Brendan Rodgers as Celtic took on Yokohama F Marinos in the first fixture of the Japan Tour. An outstanding first-half hattrick from Daizen Maeda wasn’t enough to prevent Celtic losing 6-4 to the J League side but, despite the scoreline, there was still a lot of positives to…
I watched the game. The goals we conceded are what I would call “pre-season schoolboy errors” and I’m sure BR & Co will work hard to eliminate these going forward. Having said that, I still have my reservations about the quality of our keepers and defenders, especially at defending corners, free kicks and crosses. We just don’t seem to get to any ball first so we need a rethink in terms of how to command our box defensively. Going forward, we looked extremely good in the first half with Abada, Maeda, Hatate really looking the part. BR will assess the game and tinker for the next one. It’s as much about improving fitness levels as anything else. We certainly need to tighten up defensively but I’d also like to see some real quality brought in to freshen things up and to replace the players we’ve lost like Jota.