So, has the corner been turned? Dare we hope so? Today was a really good performance. There should have been more goals and the victory should have been even more emphatic.We saw today a clean sheet and a recognizable Celtic performance. It was a team which looked as if they were happy playing with each other!
Kristoffer Ajer was very “humble” at the end, according to the pundits,when he wanted to make Duffy the Man of the Match, but I think that Kris thoroughly deserved his Man Of The Match award. He was superb both as an attacker and as a defender. For Man of the Match, there was strong competition from David Turnbull and also Greg Taylor who really is good enough to earn a place every game.
But the thing that has made all the difference to the team is the return of Christopher Jullien. He has brought out the best in both Ajer and Duffy, and the defence now has a solidity that has been lacking. One hopes he wasn’t too seriously injured in the first half today.
And what about the performance at the start of the second half? My mind goes back to the man at Aberdeen a couple of years ago who told me that he doesn’t often to the football nowadays, but made a point of going when Celtic were in town because “I like the way Celtic play their football!”. That second half, frankly, was the way that Celtic should play all the time. That is what a green and white jersey means, and one got the impression that many of our guys realised that!
I have been down on Edouard quite a bit of late. I wanted to see him scoring today because he was putting himself about far more than previously. He looked as if he had the appetite to play today. Elyounoussi, remains El enigma. Brilliant today, and showing once again what he is capable of, but we really have to see this oftener. Soro once again impressed in the middle of the field.
A good performance today and at least four bonus points – I think we now have a goalkeeper, it was lovely to see Mikey Johnston back again at the end, Callum McGregor is a truly inspiring captain and I enjoyed seeing the girls demolish Motherwell as well!
A final point about our rivals. They won today again, but they didn’t really wipe the floor with Dundee United as the pundits told us they were going to do with their overuse of their word “relentless”. There is nothing unbeatable about them. If we keep winning, I am sure they will crack, but an awful lot depends on what happens BEFORE January 2 as well as ON January 2.
David Potter
