Why Celtic boss Neil Lennon praised Hearts - and the reasons Daniel Stendel's men still lost

Hearts went down 5-0 to Celtic but were praised by Neil Lennon. Picture: SNS

Hearts boss Daniel Stendel set his stall out early ahead of the club’s trip to face league leaders Celtic.

“We do expect to have a chance and we want to play our style against Celtic,” he said. “We know we cannot take one step back or we will have no hope… We want to try to win.”

It is not often Hearts fans hear their manager take such a ballsy approach for a visit to Parkhead. While it was both encouraging and refreshing, at the very least supporters knew they could prepare themselves for the worst ahead of Wednesday’s clash in Glasgow.

IMAGE 1: Sean Clare wins possession after a risky Jullien pass.

In some circles a 5-0 defeat wasn’t surprising. However, anyone who watched the first half won’t have seen a five-goal difference on the horizon, even with Celtic taking a 1-0 lead.

It was something which was noted by Neil Lennon after the match.

The Celtic boss said: "Hearts, to their credit, came here and tried to press the game. It was interesting coming up against that at Celtic Park, we hadn't seen that before.”

Perhaps emboldened by the result and the opening of a ten-point lead at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership, Lennon is still someone who is unlikely to chuck praise Hearts’ way willy nilly.

IMAGE 2: A risky Jullien pass leads to a turnover.

It was simply a case of recognising the difficulty which Hearts posed his players.

The aspect of Stendel’s set-up which was evident from the beginning was the brave positioning of the players. IMAGE 1 shows Anthony McDonald pushed really high up on the right-hand side heading towards Kristoffer Ajer. With Liam Boyce putting pressure on Christopher Jullien, it prevented the Frenchman from having a simple pass. He attempted a risky one to Greg Taylor instead which Sean Clare intercepted.

Again the aggressive press can be seen in IMAGE 2, McDonald once more in a forward role. Boyce had an eye on Scott Brown but could also turn out to Jozo Simunovic.

Jullien could have played it sideways to Kristoffer Ajer but the Norwegian would immediately be pressed by McDonald. Instead he tried to force a forward, riskier pass, this time to Odsonne Edouard with it leading to Hearts possession.

IMAGE 3: Kristoffer Ajer has little option with Hearts taking an aggressive approach to shut off passing lanes.

Lennon bemoaned his side’s sloppiness in possession. At times they had to be perfect and precise with their passing. It certainly worked with rapid one-touch football which saw them create space. But largely they were frustrated by a Hearts side who shut off passing options, forcing Celtic to play backwards, make risky passes or slow down play.

IMAGE 3 demonstrates some of those difficult situations Hearts forced Celtic into. Ajer doesn’t have an easy option. Every team-mate is being tracked or pressurised. Any pass forward would likely lead to a turnover.

Much has been made of Stendel’s ‘gegenpressing’, but it isn’t a myth. Few other Hearts managers would play in such an aggressive manner at Celtic Park. The team, in the first half weren’t scared to engage high up the pitch. IMAGE 4 shows right-back Sean Clare in an incredibly high position, more in keeping with a right winger than right-back.

As such, Celtic were forced to take risks in their defensive and midfield third, as can be seen in IMAGE 5. Facing his own goal and under pressure from Jamie Walker, Simunovic opted to play his way out by himself rather than use Fraser Forster, who kicked long on a number of occasions in the first half.

IMAGE 4: Sean Clare takes a very high position to press Greg Taylor.

One occasion where the goalkeeper looked to play a riskier pass out from the back it went astray. Hearts were fully switched on to win possession back. IMAGE 6 sees Andy Irving the quickest off the mark to pounce on the loose ball. It led to Jamie Walker being fouled on the edge of the box and Forster forced into a save from a Ben Garuccio free-kick.

The downfall

While there was a lot to like about Hearts’ first-half performance, familiar failings were once again the side’s downfall.

It is now 11 goals conceded in the last three league fixtures, and just one win in 13 Scottish Premiership matches. The league table does not make good reading.

Joel Pereira was once more the focus of much discussion between fans during and after the game. Only there wasn’t so much discussion, rather agreement that his standing as the club’s No.1 is under severe pressure.

Following question marks over goals in the draw with St Johnstone and defeat to Kilmarnock, Pereira’s goalkeeping was back under the microscope. A shot from Odsonne Edouard was pushed to Olivier Ntcham whose follow-up brushed the Manchester United loanee’s fingers on its way into the net.

IMAGE 5: Simunovic takes a risk when pressured by Jamie Walker.

The reaction of a host of Hearts players spoke volumes. It doesn’t take much studying of the gestures and facial expressions of Craig Halkett, John Souttar and Michael Smith to decipher how they felt.

If he wasn’t going to catch Edouard’s shot, the 23-year-old either had to push the ball sideways or get his fists behind it so as to get more distance on the ball.

It was the difference between the sides at half-time. But any hope soon vanished after the interval when Jullien headed in the second. The centre-back had sent a warning early in the match when he headed over.

In both cases he ran from the edge of the box unmarked and unchecked. Hearts’ zonal-marking system was powerless to stop a 6ft4in monster in the air. Any time a player of his ability can get a run on defenders in the box he is at a significant advantage.

Simunovic for his goal also wandered into the six-yard box to net his goal.

Next two games

There are facets of Stendel’s Hearts to both like and admire. But equally there are still areas which are of concern.

With the two teams directly above – Hamilton and St Mirren – them coming next, they are absolutely must-win.

Big decisions in terms of personnel will have to be made. But if the players can show the bravery and attitude of the first 45 minutes at Celtic Park they will stand themselves in good stead when it comes to survival.