Brendan Rodgers Explains Celtic's Kyogo Mistake vs Feyenoord

The match might have ended with Celtic down to nine men and with their backs against the wall, but for a large part of the game, they were very much in it. In fact, one could argue that they were the better team in the first-half and had greater chances to score.

All of Celtic's good work was undone right before half-time. Feyenoord scored from a direct free-kick to go 1-0 up, leaving the Bhoys with a mountain to climb after the break.

As we all know, Celtic failed to deliver in the second 45 minutes. They had two players sent off in quick succession and after that, they were never going to win.

At the end of the day, a 2-0 defeat is not the worst result for Celtic when you consider the circumstances they found themselves in, having to play with two fewer players away at De Kuip for more than 30 minutes.

The downward slide started with the easily avoidable free-kick goal. Joe Hart could have done better with it but most people believe that it was the wall setup that was more to blame.

Kyogo, the smallest player on the Celtic team, stood at the inside of the wall and appeared to turn away from the free-kick, which ultimately proved to be Celtic's undoing. 

Many have questioned why the Japanese forward even stood there in the first place. Brendan Rodgers has provided somewhat of an explanation regarding the setup and how that decision was made.

According to Football Scotland, Rodgers told the press:

"Listen, we talked about it inside. I like the players to make decisions and there was a decision in the game to change the wall thinking that something else might happen - but you then have to make sure that the wall is correct otherwise you get done.

"So it's a very, very small detail but if you don't look after it, you end up conceding. It was bitterly disappointing at that stage because we had played well in the game."

It certainly was a disappointing night for Celtic. Not just because they lost, but because they could have actually gotten something out of the game if not for their own mistakes.

Kyogo standing in the wall. Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm getting sent off in entirely avoidable situations. Those are errors that should not have been made.

But then, this has been the story of Celtic when it comes to European competitions, for years now. Rodgers needs to find a way to rewrite it as soon as possible if he wants a different ending to the tale.