Ever the contrary fellow, the Celtic manager responded to the McGeady/Maloney conundrum by fielding both wingers in what might have ostensibly been a 4-5-1 formation, but which provided the option to mutate into a 4-3-3. Whatever a Celtic manager does, and this includes Martin O'Neill, it all amounts to the same thing on such away missions –dejection.

Marc Crosas, the player who looked ideally suited for a night when ball retention was paramount, started back on the bench. For those watching at home, this was almost as difficult to compute as the fact John Hartson, our resident expert, played Champions League football as recently as three years ago. Always likely to suffer the consequences of not being required to attend training each day, the former Celtic striker is certainly growing into his job as a pundit. Even in his current condition Celtic could have done with the player who supplied them with their one and so far only Champions League point on the road just before half-time. Instead, the less clinical Georgios Samaras had Strachan perhaps regretting his choice of target man. The Greek forward loped in behind the Villarreal defence but failed to clip the ball round Lopez, from an admittedly challenging angle. Samaras had been selected for his mobility over Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, but here it was all about composure. "For me he did everything wrong," said a less than charitable Hartson at half-time.

There was nothing ambivalent about the way Villarreal set themselves up. Coach Manuel Pellegrini is a strict adherer to 4-4-2, certainly at home where Villarreal have not lost this year. The scale of task facing Celtic was clear. Every statistic mocked the ambition Strachan displayed. The Parkhead side have never won away in the Champions League. Their hosts, who are joint top of La Liga, had conceded only one goal in their previous ten matches. Their side was studded with talented, determined professionals of the standard of Marcos Senna, the skipper who is the fulcrum in this impressive team. His goal from a free-kick in the 67th minute set his side on their way, and made the regret over Samaras' earlier miss all the more marked.

Villarreal could not get into their stride immediately, and found themselves stretched by the width in the Celtic midfield. Few were fooled. Last week Celtic had put another team of yellow shirted opponents to the sword as they swept Livingston aside in the Co-Operative Insurance. Villarreal, though, are more worthy proprietors of the term Yellow Peril. This they were last night as the Livingston of Spain continued to pour forward. Shots flashed past Artur Boruc as Celtic began to be overrun.

Shunsuke Nakamura is apparently cut out for these kinds of nights, but is too often posted missing. One ball, though, found Samaras, in full-galloping foal mode. Not the first time on an absorbing night the Greek looked up, and saw a clutch of hooped shirts in front of him. These, alas, were in the stands of El Madrigal, where Villarreal fans mixed with Celtic fans. There was no green and white companion in the box, as the main drawback with the lone target man formation reared its head.

Strachan persisted until well into the second-half with the personnel sent out at the start, and Ian Crocker, the commentator, risked jinxing the night by trotting off a fact about four of Villarreal's last seven group games in the Champions League having finished goal-less. Almost immediately Villarreal struck, Senna arcing a free-kick over the Celtic wall and into the bottom corner of the goal.

Craig Burley, the STV co-commentator, pronounced this as the time for a change, and was insistent that Nakamura should be the one to make way. "He's knackered," he said, on more than one occasion, sounding somewhat pleased with himself. But the changes made by Celtic were all shrouded by futility.