Celtic have returned to winning ways with a dramatic 2-1 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this lunchtime.
A stunning late goal from Giorgos Giakoumakis sealed the three points after the home side had equalised with just minutes remaining. That followed Andrew Considine’s own goal in the first half. It was an absolute rollercoaster of a day, but one we can bank and move on from.
Overall, Celtic dominated the match for large chunks and fully deserved the victory. While it was hardly a classic performance, plenty of fans will have a ‘job done’ type of feeling right now. But what were the big Celtic takeaways from the fixture? Here are three…
Reo Hatate controls proceedings – was he subbed too early?
Reo Hatate was in excellent form today, stepping up to take responsibility in a midfield that was missing Callum McGregor. It was actually Matt O’Riley who played a deeper role, but Hatate was all over the pitch, and his incisive passing in the final third eventually led to our goal.
Ange Postecoglou made a raft of subs in the second half, with one eye on the RB Leipzig fixture on Tuesday. Hatate was one of them, and Celtic’s control of the match largely went with him. We didn’t really have a handle of proceedings without the Japanese maestro in the middle of the park.
Ultimately we got away with it – three points, no harm done. But I think there were lessons in the way today’s game panned out. I’m not sure we can take so many crucial players out of the team while the game is still in the balance, regardless of European exertions.
Alexandro Bernabei looks ready to go
One major positive of today’s performance was Alexandro Bernabei’s display. This afternoon was actually his first league start for the club, and he looks ready for more minutes in Ange’s line-up.
Greg Taylor was rested today, understandably, and we need the depth behind him to be able to do that. The Argentinian showed he can be relied upon, linking up well with Jota in the first half particularly.
And it was his cross at the death which led to Giorgos Giakoumakis’ winner, showing the kind of quality he has in the final third when needed. No doubt he’ll earn plaudits from the manager after the match, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him.
Celtic still suffering from finishing problems
Again, Celtic had the chances to put the game beyond doubt well before it got nervy at the end. Liel Abada, in particular, had a couple of opportunities that should have been buried, but it’d be unfair to single him out.
The truth is, this has been a collective problem over the last few weeks. We’ve been creating the necessary chances, but are just lacking composure at the critical moments. It’s something Matt O’Riley has already said ‘needs to change’ and while it didn’t today, we have to hope more incisive afternoons are on the horizon.
Once we start clicking in the box again, we could get back to the kind of scorelines that delighted us so much at the start of the season.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou just gave one of his best media answers of the season.
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