BRENDAN RODGERS has explained his decision to play Yang over Luis Palma from the start of the defeat to Lazio in the Champions League, saying he thought the South Korean’s greater physical attributes would prove a valuable asset against the Italian side.
Yang struggled to make a real impact on proceedings in his debut in the competition, and was guilty of ceding possession on numerous occasions, particularly in the first half. He improved a little after the break before tiring and being replaced by Palma just after the hour mark.
The Honduran made a real impression and thought he had taken Celtic within minutes of their first Champions League home win for a decade as his low shot found the bottom corner of Ivan Provedel’s net, only for VAR to rule out the goal for offside after the faintest of touches on the ball from Daizen Maeda.
When asked why Yang had been given the nod over Palma in the starting XI, Rodgers said: “A bit more physicality.
“I thought Luis did well when he came into the game. He is still getting up to speed with the intensity and the tempo of it all. So that was the reason for the decision.
“We have obviously moved the wingers around to look at the best possibilities for us in the games. But I thought Luis looked good when he came on and had some really good moments.
“He was unfortunate with the goal. The ball hits Daizen. If it doesn’t touch him it would have run through to Luis. He finishes it really, really well. But I expect him to get better and better.
“I also don’t expect these young players to come and hit the ground running straight away. If they do, it’s great. But they are coming from different cultures, different football, slower tempos. It is just going to take that bit of time for them to get up to speed.
“Until that moment, we have to look at them both and look at them all. Hopefully they can contribute well for us.
“I just think [Luis] will get better and better with the experiences, demands and expectations of playing for a club like this.
“He has got the technical quality. You could see from the disallowed goal that he has shifted it and finished it really well.
“He played a couple of nice cross-field passes and secured the ball. The young players will improve.”
