Jeffrey Schlupp was handed his first league start for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers made a fair few changes for the visit of Dundee United on Saturday afternoon.
Days after Bayern Munich came to town, Celtic beat Dundee United to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table to 16 points.
It was a professional display from the champions because this was a test of mental strength after coming off facing one of the best teams in Europe in midweek.
Callum McGregor led proceedings by opening the scoring with a brilliant neat finish, with Jota continuing his fine return and Adam Idah scoring again to round off the points.
This was also the chance for the Celtic faithful to see one of their new boys – Schlupp – as he was handed his first Premiership start in the green and white colours.
Celtic fans rave about Jeffrey Schlupp’s performance vs Dundee United
It’s fair to say that Greg Taylor struggled against Bayern Munich, so there was even more of a demand from the Celtic Park faithful to see their January signing in the starting XI.
Schlupp was involved in a lot of the action, building a strong partnership with Jota on the left-hand side, coming into midfield very well and even striking the post after a rasping shot from the edge of the box.
Many fans liked what they saw from the 32-year-old and he certainly got a thumbs up.
But now, many of them would like to see the on-loan Crystal Palace player start away in Munich on Tuesday night for the return leg of the Champions League playoff clash.
It’s clear what the fans want as, @maedamaestro wrote: ‘Need to start him on Tuesday’.
@sarasimpson3006 added: ‘Would start Schlupp without doubt against Bayern. Yang reverting to type’.
@lespaulstyled made the defensive comparison with Taylor: ‘He’s better defensively than Taylor that’s for sure’.
@SwavimirBoban thinks the deadline-day signing has given Rodgers food for thought: ‘Surely Schlupp has gave BR a thought for midweek. Thought he was solid today’.
@sloanybhoy7 was clear in his thoughts: ‘Brendan surely can’t pick Taylor over Schlupp again. They’re miles apart in quality plus there’s a chance we can hold on to Schlupp for next season while taylor is offski’.
@R92Josh71035 thinks the left-back spot is Schlupp’s for the long-term: ‘Schlupp looks like he could be a player for us could be perfect back up for Tierney he is strong he has decent pace and always wants the ball and has a strike on him most importantly he looks like he knows how to defend as well start him on Tuesday and for the rest of the season’.
Schlupp’s stats for Celtic after win over Dundee United
Yes, it’s a different world altogether from Dundee United to Bayern, but Schlupp can only beat and perform against what is in front of him.
Rodgers has always backed Taylor, so this performance from Schlupp doesn’t guarantee him a start, but he has given the manager food for thought, with WhoScored rating his performance at 7.37.
| Shots | Crosses | Passes | KeyP | PA% | Acc Long Balls | Tackles | Clear | Touches | Rating |
| 1 | 1 | 62 | 1 | 91.9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 79 | 7.37 |
Taylor performed well the last time Celtic were on the road when they were beaten at Villa Park, so perhaps that works in his favour.
Either way, this is a topic of discussion ahead of that trip to Munich.
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