Celtic out-passed but not outclassed amid mobile midfield battleground

Goals from Josip Juranovic and Jota flipped an early home lead on its head before two goals in the final 10 minutes gave the hosts all three points and top spot in the group.

An opportunity missed, then, but Ange Postecoglou's men still have the benefit of Europa Conference League football after the new year.

Here, The Celtic Way looks at the StatsBomb data from the game to give you a match report experience like no other.

Trendline

First off, both sides outperformed their xG but that is not to say they were both in a ridiculously creative flow.

Celtic seemed to lack penetration for most of the first half and that shows up in the flatline periods of the chart. It was better after the break - and the serpentine nature of the race chart demonstrates they certainly competed - but admittedly it did not get to Celtic's usual standard against what was genuine quality opposition. 

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Leverkusen had their own prolonged periods of flatlining but, from around the time of Celtic's substitutions, their chance creation rose sharply and they grabbed two decisive goals in the final 10 minutes or so.

Based on xG, Celtic would have taken something from the game 39 per cent of the time.

Shots

Celtic garnered four open-play shots, half of which were statistically decent chances. StatsBomb rates a penalty as 0.76 xG meaning Juranovic's panenka is the best chance of the game statistically.

Leverkusen managed 10 shots from open play with a further six coming as a result of corners. Of the Bundesliga side's chances, they created four of good quality despite none resulting in a goal thanks to a mix of Joe Hart's reactions and the Bay Arena woodwork. Their three goals carried xG values of 0.11, 0.07 and 0.03.

Individually, no Celt head more than one attempt while Andrich led the hosts with five. Amine Adli will be disappointed not to have found the net with his three shots combining for 0.99 xG, with Hart saving two and Juranovic blocking the other.

Passing and possession

Thursday marked only the second time this season - after AZ Alkmaar away - that Celtic have been out-passed in a competitive game.

The Hoops still passed in quite well in general - 82 per cent success - but that lack of penetration in attacking areas for large swathes of the game meant no away player could boast more than one key pass despite the two goals.

That creative struggle is reflected in the cool colours of all the Celtic players in the passing network above. The average positions indicate that the Hoops did keep their shape well throughout.

In the first half, Jota was notably forced to drop deeper, close to Juranovic, in an attempt to combat Leverkusen's use of Jeremie Frimpong and Diaby. That left Forrest, on the right, as the highest outlet ball.

Celtic were also kept off the ball for 57 per cent of the play as Leverkusen generally set up in an almost Celtic-esque shape middle-to-front for much of the game. The goalkeeper and centre-backs were the only home players generally in their own half with full-backs pushed on.

The hosts nominally set up in a 4-2-3-1 but in practice that would more closely resemble a 2-4-4 in possession with the decision to play with no out-and-out striker - meaning Florian Wirtz (who played seven key passes), Diaby and Adli switching who was the focal point - posing its own particular problem at times.

Pressing and defending

Both flanks saw the most intense action with Celtic's central midfield area - most occupied by Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton - also notable as Leverkusen's mobility caused problems.

Most of Celtic's counter-pressing took place in the same area, reinforcing its role as a key battleground in the game.

It is, then, no surprise that McGregor and Bitton led the Hoops in pressures with the Israeli top of the pack for counter-pressing too while the home side's midfielder  Exequiel Palacios (33), was the game's most persistent overall.

Leverkusen's pressing was overwhelmingly wide but their counter-pressing activity includes an intense focus on Celtic's left half-space - a location Frimpong and Diaby, in particular, tried to impact the game from on numerous occasions.

The Hoops attempted more pressures in total - natural given they did not have the ball for longer spells - but were outdone in pressure regains by the Germans and won fewer tackles too.

Player focus: Stephen Welsh

Defensively, Celtic's standout was Stephen Welsh. He began the game by getting sucked out of position into the midfield area, letting Frimpong in behind in the process, but recovered from that to enjoy a solid match statistically.

The 20-year-old made 11 combined tackles and interceptions with a 100 per cent tackles/dribbled past percentage as well as seven clearances and a successful aerial duel - all with no fouls conceded.

In addition, his distribution was generally of a high standard. Welsh played 57 open-play passes (88 per cent success, behind only Carter-Vickers of the Celtic starting XI) while only hitting it long three times.

READ MORE: Celtic showed they've narrowed gap, the board must now help Ange Postecoglou close it - Sean Martin

There is, however, no metric for getting caught on your heels or not following in a rebound. To that end it is worth noting that, if not for Joe Hart's bravery to claim at the feet of Adli, then the young Scot may well have been culpable for the ease of the Leverkusen man's tap-in.

Elsewhere, Bitton once again put up solid numbers in midfield with his injury-enforced withdrawal a blow to the team's defensive composure while Ralston's relatively subpar display did not prevent him from making six interceptions - though he was dribbled past six times as well.