adminCeltic manager Martin O’Neill will know he got a major decision wrong with Sebastian Tounekti during their defeat to Rangers on Sunday.
Celtic endured a humiliating 3-0 loss against their Glasgow rivals Rangers on Sunday, as they were eliminated from the League Cup quarter-final.
Rangers took the lead through former Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, giving them a 1-0 advantage heading into the interval.
After the break, Rangers extended their lead through summer arrival Kevin Kelsy, before Neil struck again late on to complete the victory.
It was a hugely disappointing display from Celtic, especially against their city rivals, who secured the bragging rights before the two sides meet again next weekend.
The Glasgow giants will clash once more next Sunday in the Scottish Premiership, with Rangers now having the chance to move within two points of their rivals.
O’Neill will be deeply frustrated by the performance from his side, and he will already recognise that one of his selection decisions backfired badly.
The Celtic manager chose to deploy Tounekti on the wing for the Glasgow club instead of Haissem Hassan.
Hassan had set up Mika Baur in Celtic’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone the previous week, but he was left among the substitutes for the Rangers fixture.
It quickly became apparent that O’Neill realised his error, with Tounekti replaced at half-time as Hassan was introduced.
Tounekti struggled to make an impression for Celtic, with 67 Hail Hail even handing him a 0/10 rating.
“With Hyunjun Yang absent because he is at the Asian Games, Sebastian Tounekti started on the left flank and made zero impact.
The fact that he was subbed at half-time tells you everything. Hassan should have started!!!
He would come on and do more in the first two minutes than Tounekti did for his 45 minutes on the pitch.
Sutton questions Tounekti
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton also raised concerns over Celtic’s display, specifically mentioning Tounekti in his criticism.
Sutton claimed that Rangers dominated Celtic, while insisting Hassan needed to be introduced to take advantage of the space on Celtic’s right.
The former Celtic forward also criticised Tounekti for continually opting to play the ball backwards.
“Rangers have run all over Celtic… question is can they keep it up for 90 minutes. Hassan must come on and exploit the huge space on the Celtic right/Rangers left… Johnstone nervy. Midfield bullied so far. Tounekti plays backwards all the time.I’d expect Celtic to respond.”
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