The Scottish Premiership title race is now in full swing and Celtic managed to reclaim a five-point lead at the summit by defeating Ross County 1-0 at Parkhead yesterday afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers’ men made it difficult for themselves during proceedings; however, Alistair Johnston’s first-minute strike proved to be decisive on the day against the Staggies.
Jordan White and Josh Sims had late chances for the visitors to level the scoring, though Joe Hart was down sharply to his right to deny the former while the latter scooped over from close range.
Midway through the first half, Luis Palma saw a penalty saved by George Wickens after Simon Murray fouled Callum McGregor in the area.
Despite seeing his first effort palmed away, the Honduras international earned a reprieve that he couldn’t capitalise on after the referee ordered a retake due to encroachment.
Misfiring Palma was then taken off with 64 minutes to be replaced by new arrival Nicolas Kuhn, who had some nice touches and played his part in an eventual narrow triumph in Glasgow’s east end.
Brendan Rodgers says Celtic could change their penalty taker
Speaking in the aftermath of his side’s victory, Celtic boss Rodgers has indicated he could look to change his penalty taker after Palma missed his second spot-kick of the season (minus his effort ruled out for encroachment) yesterday [The Scottish Sun].
David Turnbull and Reo Hatate have also had varying degrees of success from 12 yards this term; however, someone else may now be charged with the responsibility of converting penalties for the Bhoys moving forward.
Rodgers stated post-match [Football Scotland]: “He’s missed a few now so we’ll have to look at that. I’m all for giving players opportunity and confidence if you make mistakes, but there’s no doubt we’ll have to look at that.”
Luis Palma will recover from penalty setback at Celtic
Palma has made a positive start to his Celtic career and has produced some encouraging numbers over the course of his time at the club, registering eight goals and nine assists in 24 appearances across all competitions [Transfermarkt].
In the Scottish Premiership, the 24-year-old has created 11 big chances. At the same time, he has also proved himself to be a threat from range, averaging around 2.8 shots per league fixture, according to Sofascore.
Every so often, the Honduran may flatter to deceive; nevertheless, he is an excellent outlet for Rodgers to have at his disposal and he will hopefully learn from his mistake against Ross County.
The Hoops have a clutch of important upcoming fixtures on the way, which should give the former Aris man plenty of motivation to redeem himself.
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