adminCeltic knew they would have to cope without Hyun-jun Yang for a run of fixtures after he left to join up with South Korea on international duty earlier this month.
Unfortunately, Haissem Hassan was not able to start against Rangers on Sunday after experiencing issues overnight and failing to get enough sleep to feature from the beginning.
That forced Sebastian Tounekti to line up on the left flank for the Scottish giants in their League Cup quarter-final encounter, with Camilo Duran operating on the opposite wing.
The Tunisia international has been struggling in the final third during the 2026/27 campaign, and those difficulties continued against Rangers on Sunday.
Why Sebastian Tounekti should not have started against Rangers
Tounekti featured for the first 45 minutes of the 3-0 defeat to Rangers and failed to have any significant influence on the contest, registering no crosses, shots, or chances created.
The former Hammarby star was far too cautious, repeatedly playing the ball back to Kieran Tierney or Liam Scales on the left side of the defence rather than trying to take Dujon Sterling on in the attacking third.
Tounekti was withdrawn at the interval because of his lack of influence, but that outcome could arguably have been anticipated before kick-off given his disappointing run of form.
The Tunisian attacker has now gone 16 games without finding the net in the Scottish Premiership and 15 matches without registering an assist in all competitions for the club, despite operating as a winger.
Rather than selecting Tounekti on the left wing, Martin O’Neill could have deployed Benjamin Nygren on the right, shifted Duran to the left, and strengthened the midfield by bringing in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Oliver Sorensen.
Celtic flop was even worse than Tounekti
Although the left-sided attacker was substituted at half-time, he was not Celtic’s poorest performer during their frustrating loss to Rangers on Sunday.
Celtic began with Tounekti on the left, Duran on the right, and Nygren occupying the number ten position behind Kasper Hogh, who started as the central striker at Ibrox.
The Scottish giants paid a club-record £11m to bring the Denmark international in from Bodo/Glimt during the summer, but he is already threatening to become their most wasteful signing since Adam Idah arrived from Norwich City for £9.5m.
During his spell at Parkhead, the Ireland international netted 29 goals in 76 appearances before being transferred to Swansea City for £6m, only 12 months after Celtic had paid £9.5m for him.
Hogh’s recent displays for Celtic indicate that he could be heading down a similar path to Idah, with his inconsistency proving to be a major issue this season.
The Dane, who received a 3/10 player rating from FFC for his display, endured a difficult outing against Rangers, most notably stumbling over his own feet after Colby Donovan delivered an excellent ball over the top.
Hogh would have been presented with a one-on-one chance inside the box had he maintained his composure and brought the ball under control, but instead he surrendered possession back to the hosts.
The 25-year-old forward remained on the pitch for 64 minutes, giving him considerably more time to make an impression than Tounekti, but he was unable to offer any meaningful contribution.
Celtic’s clearest opening of the game came when Donovan’s pass found the striker with the score still 0-0, but he lacked the composure and quality required to bring the ball down and finish.
Hogh’s only goals for the Hoops came when he struck a hat-trick against Kilmarnock in his second appearance for the club, and he has since gone five appearances without a goal or assist.
Just as Celtic did when they spent £9.5m on Idah, the club invested £11m in Hogh with the expectation that he would become a dependable and regular source of goals leading the line for O’Neill’s team.
Unfortunately, his early spell at Parkhead indicates that he may not possess the consistency or quality required to become that player for the Hoops, which is why he could eventually be remembered as the club’s biggest waste of money since Idah.
admin
