Celtic beat Livingston 4-2 at Celtic Park today in a performance that provided some positives going forward but also left us looking at a few glaring negatives within this team. Livingston came out today determined to put a woeful league campaign behind them and give their all in this Scottish Cup tie and to be fair to them they gave it a good go. They were undoubtedly helped however by a Celtic defence who looked as leaky as we have seen all season.
The goals we gave away were undoubtedly soft but as a team we never looked rattled and managed to win the game late on with Daizen Maeda completing his hat-trick, before his countryman Kyogo put the icing on the cake to make the scoreline seem a bit more respectable and perhaps closer to our pre-match expectations.
In a game with quite a few talking points I’ve broke it down to three areas that I felt had to be discussed:
1. Maeda getting his just rewards
I was so happy to see Daizen Maeda pick up a hat-trick today as he gives absolutely everything to the Celtic cause week in, week out. We all know he’s not the greatest player to ever pull on the hoops but I tell you what, there’s not a lot of players over the years who have provided as much energy as the Japanese international does for Celtic on a regular basis. He has his faults, but we are definitely a poorer team overall when he’s not in it.
He buzzed around yet again today like Celtic’s very own Duracell bunny but this time it wasn’t all just hard work, he brought his shooting boots as well. He timed his runs well, his first touch seemed miles better than usual and he took his chances when he was presented them. I like this new Maeda, I’m the superstitious type so don’t go shaving that head anytime soon Daizen!
2. McGregor and Cameron Carter-Vickers are a huge miss
I’m not going to mince my words here, if Welsh and Scales were to be our centre back pairing for the rest of this season we won’t win the League or the Scottish Cup. That’s hard for me to say as I love seeing local lads being given a chance but as a pairing they aren’t good enough. Scales has been a bit of a revelation this season but seems to massively struggle without the presence of Carter-Vickers beside him.
The difference the American powerhouse makes to this Celtic team is incredible, we have looked so poor defensively everytime he has been missing this season. Let’s pray he will stay injury free the rest of this season, I genuinely think he’s the most important player in our squad. On another note, what has Lagerbiekle done that the Celtic manager really doesn’t rate him? Surely he’s worth a try in beside Scales in CCV’s absence?
I also think Callum McGregor was a huge miss today. It’s clear to see without him and CCV we lack leadership but even though he’s not been at his very best this season, he leaves a huge gap when he’s missing. I feel like Tomoki Iwata isn’t as dominant without McGregor helping him out in the centre of the park.
I also feel like Bernardo, although a decent enough player, just doesn’t provide as much to this Celtic team as our captain does. I was actually quite frustrated with the Portuguese midfielder today, on one occasion he pulled out of a challenge which nearly lead to a Livingston goal and it wasn’t the only time he looked a tad disinterested. If we are to spend £6m on him on the summer I would certainly be looking to see more from him as the season progresses.
3. Kühn finally shows us his potential
I was a bit apprehensive when I saw Nicolas Kühn in the starting line up today as the German has failed to show anywhere near the form that would justify his transfer fee but the winger finally showed today why Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring him in during the January transfer window. He looked threatening out the right wing from the off, getting at his marker time and time again and showing he can beat a man. The only thing that seemed to let him down was his final ball, until he provided a sumptuous ball to Daizen Maeda for the opener.
He wasn’t finished there and continued to be a threat throughout, creating even more chances as the game progressed. If the former Rapid Vienna player can improve his final ball there is no doubt he can be an asset for Celtic moving forward. He came off late on with what looked like an injury although Brendan Rodgers stated post game that it was cramp so hopefully nothing to worry about as another injury is the last thing this Celtic team needs.
On to next weekend where a win against St Johnstone at home will take us into the international break looking good and giving the likes of CCV, McGregor and Hatate plenty of time to get fit and ready for the most crucial time of the season.
Bring it on.
Conall McGinty
Not the best performance but 4 goals scored, no penalties and no red cards to help make the match easier for us,
Question
when is a high boot not a red card?
Answer
When the player whose swinging his boot is a theRangers player.
Diomande vs Hibs today, no referees whistle and no VAR intervention, McLean was very quick with his cards in sending 2 Hibs players for early baths…. the high boot in this instance was far more obvious and a more dangerous tackle than Yangs flick out
Brendan cannot back down to this standard of refereeing