WASHINGTON – Luis Palma delivered an impactful debut season with Celtic en route to a domestic double and now Brendan Rodgers is eager to have the Honduran take his game to a new level in 2024-25.
Palma delivered a lively shift on Saturday as the Hoops defeated DC United 4-0 in the first friendly of their U.S. tour. The 24-year-old was a constant threat at Audi Field, coming close to scoring on multiple occasions, while also setting up his teammates in the final third.
“Luis is a very creative player, his strengths are to create goals and score goals,” Rodgers said postmatch. “We’ve asked him to run more without the ball and he’s started to do that over time with us. He can either dictate with penetration or by making the last pass. He had a few fantastic moments tonight. He brings great quality and he loves his football, you can see he is playing with joy.”
“When he came in he was adjusting to a different culture, style and intensity, which is always a challenge, but I think he did that very well,” Rodgers added. “He had 10 goals and some of those ones were important as well. He also had a lot of assists which is pretty good for a wide player. Getting him to be more pressing towards the ball will elevate the technical side of his game. Hopefully we can continue to progress him after a good first season.”
Palma certainly defied the odds in 2023-24, scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists over 36 combined appearances, helping Celtic repeat as Scottish Premiership winners.
In addition to continuing his playmaking final-third abilities, Palma has been pushed to offer more defensively. Saturday’s outing provided a small glimpse of what his long-term role could be this season as Celtic sits two weeks away from opening their competitive schedule on August 3.
The Hoops’ second match of their three-match U.S. tour comes Tuesday against reigning English Premier League winners Manchester City in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Larry Henry Jr
Managing Editor – SBI Soccer
Staff Writer – MLS NEXT Pro
The Celtic Star – Special Contributor
Larry will also be providing match reports and commentary on The Celtic Star from Celtic’s matches against Manchester City and Chelsea this week…
Celtic are one of several clubs linked with Tanner Tessmann but Brendan Rodgers admitted that the interest is just “speculation” right now. #USMNT https://t.co/rJ16RtvbCy
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Latest for Celtic Star talks about Matt O’Riley, his importance to the club, his performance Saturday and why #CelticFC needs to keep him amid Liverpool/Southampton/Atalanta interest. https://t.co/UkqFB7tA6Z
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