Celtic beat Livingston 4-2 at Celtic Park today in a performance that brought positives for the future, but also left us looking for some glaring negatives within this team. Livingston came out today and decided to have a dismal league campaign. They gave it their all in that Scottish Cup draw and, to be fair to them, they tried smartly. They were certainly helped despite a Celtic defence that looked as elusive as we’ve noticed all season.
The goals we conceded were undoubtedly low, but as a team we never looked nervous and controlled to win the game late with Daizen Maeda completing his hat-trick, before his compatriot Kyogo put the icing on the cake to make the score look a little. more respectable and closer to our pre-match expectations.
In a game with some talking points, I broke it down into 3 spaces that I felt needed to be discussed:
1. Maeda Receives His Reward
I was very pleased to see Daizen Maeda score a hat-trick today because he surely brings everything to Celtic’s cause week in. We all know he’s not the greatest player to ever shoot hoop, but I’ll tell you one thing. , there are many players over the years who have consistently provided as much power as the Japanese overseas for Celtic. He’s been given his flaws, but we’re definitely a worse team overall when he’s not around.
He buzzed around again today as Celtic’s Duracell bunny, but this time it wasn’t just hard work, he also brought his shooting boots. He timed his runs well, his first touch seemed much bigger than usual and he took advantage of his opportunities when he brought for it. I love this new Maeda, I’m the superstitious type so don’t stop shaving your head soon, Daizen!
2. McGregor and Cameron Carter-Vickers are a huge failure
I’m not going to beat around the bush: if Welsh and Scales were our centre-back duo for the rest of this season, we wouldn’t win the League or the Scottish Cup. It’s hard for me to say because I’d like to see the local guys get a chance, but as a duo, they’re not smart enough. Scales has been a revelation this season, but he turns out to be struggling immensely without Carter-Vickers by his side.
The difference that American strength makes in this Celtic team is unbelievable, we’ve looked so deficient defensively every time he’s been absent this season. Let’s pray that he remains injury-free for the rest of this season, I truly believe he is the most important player on our team. On the other hand, what did Lagerbiekle do to make the Celtic manager not value him?Surely Scales is worth looking at in the absence of the CCV.
I also think Callum McGregor failed massively today. It is evident that without him and CCV we lack leadership, but although he has not been at his best this season, he leaves a big void when he fails. I feel like Tomoki Iwata is rarely so dominant without McGregor’s help in the middle of the park.
I also feel that Bernardo, despite being a pretty decent player, doesn’t bring as much to this Celtic team as our captain. Today I was quite frustrated with the Portuguese midfielder. On one occasion, he pulled out of a challenge that almost led to a Livingston goal and that wasn’t the only time he seemed a little disinterested. If we have to spend £6m on him this summer, I would actually expect to see more as the season progresses.
3. Kühn still shows us his potential
Today I was a bit worried when I saw Nicolas Kühn in the starting eleven, as the German failed to show a form that justified his rate of movement, but the winger nevertheless showed today why Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring him in. January. Transfer window. He looked menacing on the right flank from the start, hitting his marker again and again and proving he could beat a man. The only thing that seemed to disappoint him was his last ball, until he gifted a sumptuous ball to Daizen. Maeda for the first goal.
It didn’t end there and remained a risk throughout, creating even more chances as the game progressed. If the former Rapid Wien player manages to improve on his last ball, there is no doubt that he can be an advantage for Celtic in the future. He came off late with what looked like an injury, although Brendan Rodgers said after the game it was a cramp, so there’s nothing to worry about because another injury is the last thing this Celtic team needs.
Moving on to next weekend, where a win against St Johnstone at home will take us into the overseas break healthy and give CCV, McGregor and Hatate plenty of time to get compatible and prepare for the season’s peak season.
Bring.
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