Europa League: Celtic 0-2 Valencia - hosts easily beaten in first leg
- Published
Valencia's Denis Cheryshev (centre) scored the first and set-up the second
Celtic have a mountain to climb to salvage their Europa League dream after Valencia coasted to victory in Glasgow.
In a below-par performance the Scottish champions rarely troubled their visitors in the last 32 first leg.
Ruben Sobrino beat the offside trap and fed Denis Cheryshev, who had an easy finish to give them the lead.
The two then switched roles, Cheryshev's cross inch-perfect for Sobrino to knock in the second.
It leaves Celtic with it all to do in the second leg at the Mestalla stadium next week in their bid to reach the last 16.
Celtic pay for their blunders
Celtic might have a dazzling pre-match light show, but they were outshone to a massive degree by the Spaniards. Even with four important players nursing injuries at home, they had way too much for a Celtic team that suffered an epidemic of misplaced passes, some while under pressure but many while under none at all.
Save for a bright beginning, when Callum McGregor forced a save from Neto, this was straightforward for the visitors who would have gone ahead a whole lot earlier than they did had it not been for a terrific Scott Bain save from a Daniel Wass header.
Any hope that Celtic had of making a tie of it against the team lying eighth in La Liga was compromised by their woeful inability to hold on to the ball. Every last one of them were at it.
Good possession gifted to Valencia. Momentum killed stone dead. A total concession of control to the Spaniards who had Daniel Parejo bossing things in the middle of the park.
Valencia would eventually make Celtic pay for their blunders. When Oliver Burke fired a heavy pass to McGregor, the midfielder couldn't keep it and when the ball broke loose, Valencia struck out.
Parejo played it in behind the Celtic defence to Sobrino. The home crowd - and half the home team - screamed offside, but he wasn't. Emilio Izaguirre played him on. Sobrino ran on, drew Bain and played it right to Cheryshev and the Russian tapped it in. All too simple.
There was some good fortune for Celtic at the break when Parejo failed to make it back out for the second half - the former Arsenal man Francis Coquelin replaced him. Not that it mattered. Within four minutes of the restart, Valencia doubled their lead and again it was a ruinously easy goal from Celtic's perspective.
Wass played it down the left to Cheryshev who put in a lovely cross which was put away with ease by Sobrino. The fact that the striker was alone in Celtic's six-yard box at the time told you much about the dozy defending that was going on back there.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers shows the strain as his team are beaten by Valencia
It could have been three just two minutes later when Cristiano Piccini, a Celtic target last summer, cut in from the right and forced a save from Bain.
Two goals behind at home, Celtic were now in the precise situation that Barcelona found themselves at Camp Nou when Valencia went there earlier in the month. Barca banked on Lionel Messi to dig them out of a hole, which he did with two goals.
Brendan Rodgers turned to Odsonne Edouard and Timothy Weah who came on for Ryan Christie and Scott Sinclair. No Messiesque act of escapology ensued. Celtic got more of the ball, but Valencia never looked in any trouble, never got unduly bothered by what Celtic threw at them. Neto in the Valencia goal was idle throughout Celtic's huff and puff.
'Celtic need footballing miracle'
The Spaniards managed the game to the end of their routine night in Glasgow.
With Celtic's away record you could say Valencia didn't just win a match, but a tie.
It would take the most remarkable away performance from Rodgers' team next week to make a fight of it, the kind of away performance that is previously unseen from them.
After this non-event they need some kind of footballing miracle in Spain.