Mikey Johnston earned all the plaudits for his role in Celtic’s 3-0 win over Dundee yesterday.
And rightly so. Because the Celtic winger has earned plenty of complaints in recent years for his inconsistent performances in the green and white hoops, so it’s only fair that he gets credit when he deserves it.
However, there is one other player that played out of his skin yesterday and that was young Paulo Bernardo.
The Benfica loanee has been a bit of a gambler this season, but after his performance yesterday, it’s no surprise that Celtic fans are asking him to start against Rangers on Saturday.
With an impressive rating of 8. 3 according to football statistics site Fotmob, Bernardo’s outing at Dens Park was his most productive performance of the season.
In the 90 minutes he was on the pitch, Bernardo touched the ball 57 times. Of those, he completed 40 passes with a 93% success rate.
As well as scoring his first goal for Celtic, the 21-year-old also created a chance, taking five more shots on target and nine throw-ins in the Dundee area.
Defensively, Bernardo put in a shift as he made two clearances, seven ball recoveries and nine defensive actions.
Bernardo also won five duels and never lost any of his aerial fights. In fact, it was a completely complete performance from the youngster and definitely put him in contention to start against the Rangers this Saturday.
And Celtic will want him to be at the top level of his game. As he struggles to get Reo Hatate back into shape, Brendan Rodgers wishes he could count on him to put on a display against the Hoops’ biggest rivals.
Given that Odin Thiago Holm and David Turnbull have been lacking in confidence recently, it looks like Bernardo could help lead Celtic to a Glasgow Derby victory.
In other news, ‘100%’… Former SFA official believes VAR failed Celtic in Dundee win yesterday