Player Ratings: Celtic 0- 2 Malmo (A)

Celtic bowed out of the Champions League after losing 2-0 to Malmo at the Swedbank Stadium, which meant the Hoops went down 4-3 on aggregate.

Goals from Markus Rosenberg and Felipe Carvalho condemned Celtic to another season in the Europa League. Here we rate the performances of each of the Hoops players individually, on what was a poor night for the Scottish champions.

Craig Gordon – 5

Made some crucial saves to keep Celtic in the match at 1-0, but failed to look convincing at both of Malmo’s goals. Will be disappointed that two crosses into the box undone his side. Did all he could on a night Celtic will want to forget quickly.

Saidy Janko – 6

Tried to get things going when in forward areas, but a lack of movement from others meant he usually had nobody to give the ball to. Coped with Berget well enough and stopped the Norwegian several times from bursting down the left. Decent enough for his first European outing.

Dedryck Boyata – 4

Poor performance from the new man from Manchester City. Didn’t look composed throughout and lost the ball several times in key areas. Failed to remain solid at the back as Malmo breached the Hoops twice, Overall, a poor, poor game from the Belgian.

Virgil Van Dijk – 4

Just as bad as his defensive partner, Van Dijk looked uninterested throughout the entire 90 minutes. Picked up a silly yellow card after kicking the ball away in the opening 20 minutes, which meant the Dutchman was skating on thin ice for the rest of the game. Didn’t look anywhere near as commanding as he has done for the past two years. Could be his last appearance for the Hoops, and it was one to forget.

Charlie Mulgrew – 5

Tried to make things happen for the Hoops, but his lack of pace proved costly down the left-hand side. The decision to draft him in for Emilio Izaguirre seemed to be a sensible one, but it backfired with a lack of creativity showing from the Scotland international. Worked hard throughout to get forward and stop Malmo attacks down his flank, but failed in both areas.

Nir Bitton – 4

Uncharacteristic performance from the Israeli, whose job is to break opposition attacks and keep the team grounded. Failed in both of these targets as he gave the ball away countless times in the middle of the park to shift momentum back with the hosts. Scored a perfectly good goal which was chopped off, but seemed to lose his head after that. Booked and hooked for Ciftci in the final 20 minutes.

Scott Brown – 5

Just as ineffective as Bitton was for the visitors, but didn’t make many real costly errors. Couldn’t stop the opposition from dominating the midfield, and was also unable to get forward enough to be a factor. Passed the ball around fairly well, but never in the areas which would’ve hurt the Swedes.

Stuart Armstrong – 5

Seemed to be one of Celtic’s bright sparks going forward in the first half, but that wasn’t hard considering the lack of a threat the visitors posed throughout the game. Beat his man several times but the final ball was extremely poor when in decent positions. Hooked at half-time for Kris Commons.

Stefan Johansen – 3

Terrible performance from one of Deila’s most trustworthy players. Couldn’t get on the ball or make it stick, meaning he failed in his task of probing the home side’s back-line and providing service to the starved Leigh Griffiths. Wasn’t in the game and began to lose his temper towards the end. Booked in a lackluster performance.

James Forrest – 7

Best player on the park for the visitors. Did his best to get his team going, and beat his man down the right on countless occasions. Consistently had space to pick out a pass, but the lack of movement from up top proved costly as he was forced to pass to team-mates in poor areas. Worked hard all night and didn’t deserve to be on the losing team. Came off for Mackay-Steven for the final 10 minutes to freshen things

Leigh Griffiths – 4

Starved of service all night and it showed in his frustrations. Lucky not to be sent off after kicking out at the opposition, and was booked for the confrontation. Didn’t look to move into space or give Armstrong or Forrest a place to pass the ball productively. A big chance on the big stage for the Scotland international, but failed miserably on the night.

Subs:

Kris Commons – 4

Was brought on at half-time for Stuart Armstrong in a bid to inspire Celtic going forward and do what he does in getting crucial goals. There was no lack of effort on behalf of the former Derby County man, but his lack of quality and pace showed as he was easily closed down and dispossessed whenever in possession. Got into one or two key areas, but never did anything when in them.

Gary Mackay-Steven – 2

Came on for the final 10 minutes and didn’t do anything of note. Arguably didn’t have enough time to make an impact on the game, and he never got a kick after being subbed on. Should’ve stayed on the bench.

Nadir Ciftci – 3

Replaced Bitton for the last 18 minutes and won some headers in aerial battles as Celtic got desperate for a goal. Didn’t have any chances to score and was starved of service like Griffiths. Uninspiring sub, but did okay.