Worse than Engels: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who looks awful in new role
Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy lost for the second time in as many matches since arriving at Parkhead with a 3-0 defeat at home to Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Hoops boss lost 2-1 to Hearts in his first match in the dugout, but was unable to get a reaction out of his players for this clash with the Italian giants.
Celtic found themselves 3-0 down at half-time, as Roma ran riot, but they missed the chance to give themselves a lifeline for the second 45 when Arne Engels hit the post from the penalty spot.
The Belgian star hit the penalty sweetly, aiming for the bottom left corner, but his effort came crashing off the post, which meant that the Hoops were 3-0 down at the break.
Why Arne Engels deserves to keep his place in the team
Engels may be an easy target for criticism because of his penalty miss, which is understandable after a 3-0 loss, but there were also some positive elements to his performance to go along with his struggles.
On the one hand, the Belgium international lost six of his eight duels on the ground, per Sofascore, which shows that he was a bit too weak in his physical battles with the Roma midfielders.
On the other hand, though, the former Augsburg star made a lot of impressive runs down the right channel on the overlap and came close to creating chances a couple of times before he should have had an assist for Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored from his ball across the box but had just strayed offside.
As well as what should have been an assist for Kelechi, Engels created one ‘big chance’ in the match, per Sofascore, and showed that he has the creative quality to make things happen in this new system.
A player who has not had as much success in Nancy’s 3-4-2-1 system is Sebastian Tounekti, who should be dropped for the League Cup final against St Mirren on Sunday.
Why Sebastian Tounekti should be dropped
The Tunisia international has largely played as a left winger for the Scottish giants since his move from Hammarby in the summer transfer window, but he has had to take on a new role under the French boss.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
After playing as a left-winger in a 4-3-3 for Brendan Rodgers and in a 4-2-3-1 for Martin O’Neill, Tounekti has had to play as a left wing-back for Nancy, in a role that does not appear to suit him.
In this wing-back role, the 23-year-old has more defensive responsibility, as he has to track back to sometimes drop into a back five out of possession, and it sometimes leaves him without much support in wide areas, which can leave him in situations on his own against two or three defenders.
As a natural winger, the defensive side of the game has caught Tounekti out. Per Sofascore, the Tunisian whiz lost four of his five physical duels and failed to make a single tackle or interception against Roma.
On top of his defensive troubles, the wing-back did not register a shot on target and did not create any ‘big chances’ for the team against the Italian side in 90 minutes on the pitch, per Sofascore.
Minutes
59
90
Key passes
1
2
Accurate crosses
0
0
Shots on target
0
0
Possession lost
14x
15x
Dribbles completed
0/4
1/1
Duels won
5/12
1/5
As you can see in the table above, Tounekti has lost the ball 29 times in two games without deliver a goal or an assist in his first two matches as a wing-back.
He has also lost the majority of his duels across both games, after losing seven out of 12 against Hearts, which shows that he does not have the physicality or defensive awareness to be effective in that role, at least without more training and understanding of the position.
Because of how awful Tounekti has been in his first two games in the position, Nancy must ruthlessly drop him from the starting line-up for the clash with St Mirren on Sunday, given that it is a cup final and the Hoops need reliable options across the pitch.
Moving Kieran Tierney, a natural wing-back, forward and bringing another defender, like Colby Donovan, to play in the back three could be a sensible move to make after Celtic conceded five goals in their first two games with this new system.
Dream 1st signing for Nancy: Celtic plot move for "exceptional" £90k-p/w star
Celtic are plotting a move to sign a Premier League player who could be a dream first signing for Wilfried Nancy.
ByDan Emery 5 days ago