Celtic wilted under pressure, physically and mentally

And for Brendan Rodgers, and the boardroom, the performance raised uncomfortable questions that stretch well beyond another bad afternoon.

Much of the post-match discussion will inevitably centre on Dane Murray, who endured the kind of day young players sometimes never quite get over. His sliced own goal opened the scoring, his decision making contributed to Hearts’ second, although both Benjamin Nygren and Arne Engels were also culpable, and his unnecessary foul in the box gifted the third from the spot. It was an afternoon in which everything that could go wrong for him did, and it overshadowed the fact that Celtic had actually responded well after the early setback.

Callum McGregor’s equaliser was as well-worked a goal as Celtic have produced all season, a move full of quick interplay and confidence, and for a spell Celtic were the better side. Nygren could and should have put Celtic ahead before the break but tried to lift the ball over the goalkeeper when a driven finish was required. The margins were fine at that stage, and had that gone in the story of the match may have shifted.

At half-time Celtic looked poised to build on a promising recovery. Instead, the second half revealed the same vulnerabilities that have become all too familiar. Hearts increased their intensity, pressed with conviction and belief, and Celtic found themselves increasingly pushed backwards.

When Hearts adjusted by pushing Braga onto McGregor, the rhythm that Celtic had enjoyed disappeared. It is a tactical problem that has unsettled Brendan Rodgers’ team before, and one for which a consistent solution has yet to appear.

The limitations of the Celtic squad, stretched thin by injuries, were laid bare. A backline of Donovan, Murray, Scales and Tierney always looked like a risk in a venue that demands experience and physical authority. Rodgers perhaps chose balance, but Auston Trusty, may, with hindsight, have offered experience.

Meanwhile Johnny Kenny, leading the line in the absence of Iheanacho and Maeda, could not provide the hold-up play or threat required, and Celtic lacked anything resembling genuine creativity to match the endeavour shown in midfield.

There were players who worked, who competed, who tried to take responsibility, such as McGregor, as always, Tierney and Tounekti, who at least showed urgency and drive. But these efforts were isolated rather than part of a collective identity.

Rodgers’ own decisions invited scrutiny too. Aside from the debate over the chosen backline, and an unwillingness to address it during the game, Tounekti, Celtic’s most dangerous and direct player, was withdrawn with half an hour left, despite Hearts being forced backward most often by his movement. Rodgers may well have been managing fitness after the midweek win in Europe, but the substitution only diluted Celtic’s threat further. And while the manager can fairly argue he is working with a depleted and unbalanced squad, it is also true that the choices available were not necessarily used in the most pragmatic way.

Yet focusing solely on the manager risks missing the broader issue. This was a defeat that exposed structural failings rather than merely tactical ones. Celtic’s recruitment has lacked cohesion, clarity, and urgency. Where Hearts added targeted quality to a growing core, Celtic gambled during the summer on development projects and depth players, who may come good in time but cannot yet shoulder responsibility in matches of this intensity. It is far from the first time supporters have voiced frustration on this front, but the consequences were plain to see at Tynecastle.

The concern now is not just the gap at the top of the table, but the direction of travel. After a step forward with a win against Sturm Graz in midweek, this one, frustratingly, felt like another step back. Celtic looked like a team searching for conviction, for physical authority, and, worryingly, after a confidence boosting midweek win, for belief. Hearts, by contrast, played like a team who knew exactly what they were, what they wanted to do, and how to do it.

There is still a long way to go in the season. Players will return. January offers, in theory at least, an opportunity to correct what has gone badly wrong. But unless the club recognises the scale of the problems rather than attributing them to temporary misfortune, the slide will not correct itself.

On the day, Hearts deserved their victory. They ran harder, engaged with more conviction, believed more strongly in their plan, and crucially, played for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Celtic wilted under pressure, physically and mentally, particularly so in the second half.

What should trouble Celtic most is how familiar the pattern is becoming.

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