Ange Postecoglou has been given credit for many things since arriving at Celtic, but one key achievement that’s gone under the radar is his run of form without Kyogo.
Celtic have been without their talismanic striker throughout the entire 2022 schedule so far this year. The Japanese international rattled home as many as 16 goals in 26 appearances in the first half of the campaign [Transfermarkt].
However, Celtic have played 12 domestic games and won 11 of them since the turn of the year. Without their first-choice striker who many believed they relied upon.
Let’s not forget that Celtic have had to travel to Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibs, Motherwell, and Livingston in that period respectively. Not to mention a high-pressure Glasgow derby at Celtic Park against Rangers back in early February.
In addition to that, Ange has watched on as different players have stolen the show in 2022. In the 3-0 mauling of Rangers, Reo Hatate stepped up to bag a brace. The 4-0 hammering of Motherwell? Tom Rogic was the outstanding performer.
Liel Abada stepped up to nab a last-minute winner against Dundee United when Celtic were in desperate need of a hero. And in the 3-2 win at Pittodrie, Jota stepped up with 2 goals to give us a priceless 3 points. There have been a host of different Celtic players stepping up and doing the damage.
Rangers would never have survived without Alfredo Morelos; Celtic deserve greater recognition
Could you imagine what would’ve happened if Rangers had suffered a similar case with Alfredo Morelos? They were without him for 3 games in January and February and they lost 5 points.
He’s also been directly involved in 7 league goals in their last 6 matches [Transfermarkt]. Granted, this isn’t the Morelos fanclub, but the point being that Rangers would never have been able to even stay in the title race had they suffered an injury like ours. It’s not as if Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala would be doing a job for them on a weekly basis.
Yet we have backup stars such as Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis filling the void exactly when we needed them to after Kyogo’s injury.
Not to mention that Ange has done an incredible job keeping an aura of calm around the place. He didn’t reveal Kyogo’s injury timeframe knowing full well that it would’ve caused mass hysteria amongst the media. It also would’ve had many supporters in extreme panic mode too.
It shows how much of a goal threat Ange has in the final third from so many different players. We already have 3 players on double-figures when it comes to their goal return in the league this season. Turnbull is on 7 whilst Tom Rogic, Anthony Ralston, and Giorgos Giakoumakis are all on 5 respectively [BBC].
Celtic are finding goalscoring heroes all over the park, and that’s down to the manager and what he’s built here. And considering it’s clear that Rangers couldn’t have coped under similar circumstances, you have to say more credit is due here.
In other news, Dundee United are being urged to take a dangerous approach for Celtic game
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