Chris Sutton has called on Brendan Rodgers to take a leaf out of Unai Emery’s book after Celtic’s 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, urging the Hoops boss to adapt his approach when facing superior opposition in Europe.
The former Celtic striker pointed to Aston Villa’s Champions League victory over Bayern Munich as a prime example of tactical discipline and pragmatism leading to success.
Just one night after Celtic’s humbling in Dortmund, Emery masterminded a 1-0 victory over European giants Bayern Munich. While Celtic attacked Dortmund without fear and left themselves exposed, Villa took a more measured approach. Emery’s side adapted their game plan, defending with iron discipline and ultimately winning the match thanks to a late goal from substitute John Duran. Despite having just 36% possession, Villa’s game management and defensive structure earned them a victory.
Writing in The Daily Record, Sutton highlighted the contrast between the two approaches, noting that Villa played with a compact set-up, with their full-backs rarely venturing forward.
“In terms of Rodgers’ approach, again, I stress there’s nothing wrong with having an identity and philosophy, but there’s also nothing wrong with amending it to suit a scenario. I was at Villa Park on Wednesday and watched Unai Emery’s approach to beating Bayern Munich.
“That’s an English Premier League team spending vast sums of money, but it was 4-4-2 and the full-backs barely moved out of their own half. Struggling to beat an aggressive man-on-man press, they ended up just thrashing balls over the press trying to hit Ollie Watkins.
“Thirty-six per cent possession, yet a famous victory. There are levels in football and Emery felt he had to go that way to overcome a higher power. I sat at the Champions League Final just five months ago and Borussia were better than Real Madrid for the first half. They have far-superior players to Celtic. That’s just a fact.
“Going forward, there has to be an acknowledgement there are better ways to try to combat superior opponents than my old team displayed in Dortmund.”
The lesson for Celtic is that sometimes pragmatism is necessary when facing teams of Borussia Dortmund’s calibre. While Celtic have their own identity of attacking football, there’s no harm in adapting that style to suit the opposition—especially when facing teams with far superior quality.
Looking ahead, Celtic’s upcoming clash against Atalanta in the Champions League is a massive test for Rodgers and his squad. If Celtic can demonstrate the kind of tactical discipline that Villa showed against Bayern, they may stand a chance of getting a result.
