No-one was busier in a Celtic shirt today than Greg Taylor, with the left-back producing an all-action display to silence some of his critics in the early stages of the season.
Taylor hasn’t hit the heights of his 2022/23 form so far under Brendan Rodgers. He’s looked laboured and ineffective on the left flank. Some of the criticism has been valid, with plenty of it a little over the top, too. But today he showed signs he is capable of flourishing in this version of the Celtic team.
With 117 touches, he had 30% more of the ball than anyone else on the pitch including the influential Matt O’Riley. The defender was everywhere, blocking off space in his own half and looking to impact attacks past midfield.
Taylor completed 75 of his 84 attempted passes with 13 of them going into the final third of the pitch. In the first half before the Joe Hart sending off he was seemingly slicing Livingston open at will for a period.
It was his accurate ball forward that allowed Reo Hatate to win and subsequently convert a penalty for Celtic’s opening goal of the day.
Defensively he was successful in both of his attempted tackles, made a clearance and an interception, as well as seven recoveries of the ball. He won six of his nine duels on the day, coping well with the physicality of Livingston.
With O’Riley in such good form and Daizen Maeda working incredibly hard, there were multiple contenders for the man of the match honour at Almondvale but the Sky Sports panel awarded it to Taylor. It’s hard to argue against.
Yes, Celtic will have stiffer tests ahead this season. The discussion around Taylor is often contextualised by what the club needs for Europe, too. But on Saturday the defender showed he can not only be a functional member of this team but an absolute standout.
Hopefully, it’s the start of a consistent run of form. On his day, he can be a hard-hitting weapon for Celtic in all areas of the pitch.
In other news, Joe Hart apologises on Instagram after Celtic dismissal; teammates and fans show support.
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