Celtic faltered to a 1-1 draw away at Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon. Bojan Miovski opened the scoring early doors and although Nicolas Kuhn levelled things up with his first goal in hoops just after the hour mark, The Bhoys failed to take away three points.
It was a frustrating afternoon for all involved with the club, but it was a mark of the substandard recruitment in the January window.
Alexandro Bernabei was in at left-back after the club failed to bring one in last month and sure as fate, it was via the Argentinian’s flank that the champions conceded. He was resultantly hooked for a right-back in Anthony Ralston.
Such a substitution shows what Brendan Rodgers thinks of the left-back situation and post-match, former Hoops frontman Chris Sutton has criticised the club’s lack of preparation whilst also claiming that the Hoops are at risk of losing the league.
On his official account on X, Sutton spoke out: “Celtic’s failure to bring in a left back (was) summed up when Bernabei was hooked in the second half”, he said.
“Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Title race is on…”
Celtic’s closest challengers for the title currently hold two games in hand on them. The Hoops are six points ahead, but one imagines the current second-place team make the most of their spare matches.
There is undoubtedly a title race on, and Brendan Rodgers’ team need to up their game. Although recruitment was poor and has certainly proved costly, several chances weren’t taken today. Things must improve, and fast.