The Celtic fans couldn’t get enough of the performance put in by Mikael Lustig for Sweden yesterday as he rolled back the years against Spain.
The Swedes kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign with a superb point against Luis Enrique’s troubled Spanish side. Former Celt Lustig, who spent nearly eight years at Parkhead, was tasked with stopping Leipzig winger Dani Olmo. With Jordi Alba constantly looking to go on the overlap too, it was a long night.
But Lustig produced a stubborn display and was part of a Sweden defence that batted away everything thrown at them.
From a Celtic perspective, it was amazing to see Lustig back playing at the top level. After a dismal spell with Rosenborg after leaving Parkhead in the summer of 2019, he now finds himself back in Sweden with AIK. His steady, reliable display last night shows he still has this level of performance in him.
Even seeing Lustig getting the call was great to see. Seeing him produce a defensive performance of that standard showed just how good he can be in certain games.
No, Celtic fans praising Lustig doesn’t mean we should’ve kept him
Of course, what we’ve said above and the praise he’s received from supporters doesn’t mean we should’ve kept him. Or that we should bring him back because he’s starring at Euro 2020.
Let’s not forget why Lustig wasn’t given a new contract in the first place. It was clear to see that the Swedish veteran was slowing up. This was most noticeable in Premiership games against pacey wide-men and especially in Europe.
Revisionism is bound to happen after a performance like this. Especially given the struggles we’ve had a right-back this season and the dreadful performances of Jonjoe Kenny during his loan spell from Everton.
However, Lustig was let go for a reason. Performances like last night’s don’t come around often enough to merit the notion of bringing him back.
Even so, it was a night to credit his and Sweden’s overall display. Let’s take a look at what the Celtic fans made of his outing: