3 reasons why Celtic lost to Valencia | UEFA Europa League Round of 32

#3 Switching Off Defensively

Valencia v Celtic - UEFA Europa League Round of 32: Second Leg

Celtic could have come away tonight with a 0-0 and no one would have begrudged them for it. They defended well both individually and as a team, for the most part of the game. But at this level, you need to concentrate for the entirety of a match otherwise you will get punished.

The goal Valencia scored to win the match on the night came from a simple header back into the 6-yard box for Kevin Gameiro to knock it home via his knee. But when you rewatch the goal, you can see a couple of mistakes appearing in Celtic's backline.

Johnny Hayes, who admittedly is a winger filling in at left back, switches off to the man running off him at the back post and can't get anywhere near him again to even challenge him for the header. Then both center-halves in Boyata and Simunovic completely forget to mark Gameiro as he ghosts between the pair to score.

Kevin Gameiro is the third highest goal scorer in the Europa League over the last 9 seasons and the 10th in the history of the competition. He's won the competition 4 out of the last 5 years. It is criminal for not one of the two center-halves to pick him up at the edge of the 6-yard box.