Mika Baur delivers brutal Celtic verdict after Celta Vigo Europa League defeat

Celtic midfielder Mika Baur has delivered a damning assessment of his side’s second-half collapse against Celta Vigo.

The German opened the scoring at Celtic Park, but a quickfire double from Javi Rodriguez turned the contest on its head and condemned Martin O’Neill’s side to another European defeat.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Baur made no attempt to disguise his frustration with Celtic’s inability to build on their advantage.

He said: “Very disappointed in the end. We scored, I thought we had a good ten minutes, and then we were too passive.

“They dominated us in our own half, around our own box. We had no control with the ball, we defended not well enough… so yeah. I think how we played the second half, or the last 30 minutes, it’s deserved in the end.”

Asked why Celtic had surrendered control of the contest, Baur offered a brutally honest response.

“I cannot tell you. I’m sorry. I have no idea.”

The midfielder was also critical of his side’s failure to retain possession and halt Celta’s momentum after conceding.

“Absolutely. It can happen when you get a goal. They can score as well, good team.

“So then, you should get the control back. Hold the ball a bit longer to take the momentum away from them, maybe. Like us at the moment, after our goal, it’s always like that. So you should break that, but we did not.”

Despite Celtic’s precarious position in the Europa League, Baur insisted the players have not given up hope of reaching the knockout stages.

“What else should we do? Yeah, absolutely. There’s still games ahead, so we go with all our best to qualify for the next round.

“It’s not getting easier with a loss again, so yeah. We need points.”