Celtic had an exciting battle with Falkirk in the League Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Despite coming up against a Championship side, Celtic needed to come back from behind twice to beat Falkirk at Parkhead on Sunday.
After the highs of Celtic’s Champions League win in midweek, this recent result and performance was perhaps a wake-up call.
First of all, you need to take into account the number of changes that were made, from back to front, with mixed performances.
Paulo Bernardo rewarded himself with a goal, including Adam Idah netting a brace to save his team’s blushes, but others perhaps weren’t so fortunate.
Auston Trusty was a much-needed signing from Sheffield United this summer and he was handed his first start by Rodgers, starting at centre-back.
But Marvin Bartley put him in the firing line for how he defended Falkirk’s opening goal, how he had ‘no idea’ where goalscorer Ross Maciver was before he shot from the edge of the box, which he was backing away from.
Falkirk’s strength and pace on transition was proving to be a problem, with Bartley adding that Celtic’s left-side ‘struggled’, as he told Premier Sports (22/09/24 at 3:55 pm).
Trusty proceeded to play the entire game at the heart of the defence, with Stephen Welsh next to him getting 85 minutes of action.
Auston Trusty’s first start for Celtic
“It’s a fantastic finish, we spoke about Agyeman before the game, he uses his physical presence and heads it back down into a dangerous area,” said Bartley.
“I think Trusty has no idea where the centre-forward is though, he is going back into his own box, before he realises it, there is a shot from the edge of the box and it leaves Kasper with no chance at all. I thought Celtic struggled down that left-hand side. Both the left-sided centre-half and left-back have both struggled in the game so far.
“They knew what they were coming up against. These players had an opportunity to stake their claim in the Celtic squad and they are not doing well enough, at this moment in time.
Patience is needed with Auston Trusty
The American’s ability to play across the front three will prove to be very valuable and you aren’t on Arsenal’s books if you don’t have something special in your locker.
Trusty needs to get used to Rodgers’ system, and the players around him and see how he will react when the senior first-team starters are around him.
Rodgers rightfully rotated because, in a few weeks, Celtic will travel to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund in a mouth-watering Champions League tie.
The players need to be as fresh as possible, especially with his revamped Champions League format having two extra games and how there is belief that the team can reach the knockout stages.
