The Martin O’Neill era has drawn to a close with a narrow win against Dundee.
O’Neill has completed his interim spell with a perfect domestic record, drawing Celtic closer to Premiership leaders Hearts.
But it was quite the relief to hear the final whistle, in truth – the second-half was nervy stuff.
Wilfried Nancy will have been watching closely ahead of taking his first training session at Lennoxtown on Thursday.
It remains to be seen if he will change to his preferred 3-4-3 formation for Sunday’s crucial top-of-the-table clash against Hearts, who dropped points against Kilmarnock.
But who stood out in O’Neill’s send-off?
Celtic player ratings vs Dundee
Kasper Schmeichel – 8/10
Schmeichel was called into action more than he usually is in Premiership matches at home.
When needed, he protected his goal, ending the night with a clean sheet which was ultimately crucial for the win.
Colby Donovan – 8/10
It was, perhaps, a slight surprise to see Donovan keep his place after struggling at Easter Road.
But the call paid off – Donovan was one of the team’s more positive players in possession, with his carrying and his distribution. Perhaps his most impressive performance under O’Neill.
Auston Trusty – 6/10
Trusty has been a standout performer since O’Neill’s arrival, but tonight wasn’t one of his stronger performances.
Admittedly, he wasn’t involved a great deal – but the pro-active defending and passing wasn’t as evident tonight.
Who was your Celtic MOTM vs Dundee?
Liam Scales – 5/10
Scales has set some high standards this season, but he was notably off it tonight, and was nearly caught out.
Duels and penalty box defending have been strengths of his this season, but not this evening, for whatever reason.
Marcelo Saracchi – 8/10
Saracchi’s performance was disappointingly cut short tonight, but he showed positivity on the ball when involved.
Callum McGregor – 6/10
The Hoops captain rarely drops below a six out of ten – but this evening, didn’t really show anything to rank above it.
There were flashbacks to the days of Brendan Rodgers with how exposed McGregor was at times tonight.
Arne Engels – 6/10
It’s raining sixes, but that’s a good representation of how it went for most of the Celtic team. Far from awful, but far from brilliant.
Engels’ best performances tend to come in games where Celtic have less possession – but he needs to show more in games like this.
Reo Hatate – 9/10 (MOTM)
One word: Caviar.
Hatate was a joy to watch tonight. When at his best, his ability to pick players out and work himself out of tight situations is quite something.
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Luke McCowan – 6/10
You can’t really blame McCowan for putting in performances like his showing this evening.
He simply isn’t a winger, and doesn’t have the skillset to do what Celtic’s other wingers do. His performances there in recent weeks have been especially commendable for that reason.
Yang Hyun-Jun – 8/10
Yang rarely lacks intent in his play – execution is usually the problem. But when he shows the confidence and ability that he did tonight, you see why he has lasted three seasons at Celtic.
It’s been an encouraging week for the 23-year-old, and here’s hoping that he can kick on under Nancy.
Daizen Maeda – 8/10
Maeda didn’t have a lot to work with today, but scored the crucial opener that was ultimately the match winner.
He was bang on the intensity, too – but that’s what we’ve come to expect from the reigning player of the year.
Substitutes:
Sebastian Tounekti – 5/10
Kieran Tierney – 6/10
Paulo Bernardo – N/A
Anthony Ralston – N/A
Benjamin Nygren – N/A
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