Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm have extended apologies to their Celtic teammates after receiving red cards in a 2-0 loss to Feyenoord, leaving the Scottish champions with just nine men on the field.
Celtic’s Gustaf Lagerbielke is shown a red card by referee Irfan Peljto REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
The defeat occurred in a fervent atmosphere at Feyenoord’s De Kuip Stadium.
Lagerbielke, a rookie central defender from Sweden, was handed a somewhat contentious second yellow card, while Holm was given a straight red without the need of a VAR intervention.
Yang revealed that the pair apologised after the match but said he never gave up hope, saying: [MailPlus]
“The two players felt very sorry for the team,’ revealed South Korean winger Yang Hyun-Jun after the game. ‘But the rest of the team are very supportive and told them that it was not a big thing. We have to get over it as a team and be professional.
“After we got the red cards we were very disappointed but, because we are very professional, I believed in our team. We still kept going on and doing what we can do.
“Before the red cards, I definitely believed that we could win. I could see from all of the supporters the great backing they were giving us. Even after the red cards I still hung on to the hope.”
Brendan Rodgers seemed frustrated after the match and blamed the inexperience of both players for the sending-off, but praised the remaining nine players for maintaining composure and putting in a hard shift for the remaining half an hour.
Celtic will need to hope that Philips can shake off his knock ahead of Lazio’s visit in a few weeks’ time, with it unlikely Carter-Vickers will be back.
