The game after a Champions League win had Celtic huffing and puffing to a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn sealed the three points for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers enters the next international break top of the Scottish Premiership table.
The Celtic boss made two changes to his team to face Kilmarnock from the one that beat RB Leipzig midweek with Cameron Carter-Vickers missing out completely and Adam Idah starting ahead of Kyogo Furuhashi.
Celtic struggled to assert their dominance in the game throughout the 90 minutes in Ayrshire as Kasper Schmeichel had his busiest-ever afternoon in the SPFL.
Callum McGregor opened the scoring just before half-time with a cross-come-shot:
And Nicolas Kuhn tied up the win with lovely 73rd-minute finish which meant the points headed back to Glasgow and to the top of the league as Celtic resumed their position as the best team in Scotland.
So with that in mind, here are Celtic’s player ratings after Brendan Rodgers’ team battled to well earned win against Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock.
Kasper Schmeichel – 8
The big Denmark international was called into action a few times in 90 Rugby Park minutes. Schmeichel made two saves in the first half and followed that up with another great couple of saves at his near post in the second half. Good solid performance.
Alistair Johnston – 7
Didn’t really hit the heights of his last few outings in a Celtic jersey and struggled to spark up that psychic-like partnership with Nicolas Kuhn. Great defending in the second half to deny Kilmarnock a goalscoring opportunity in the 59th minute. Created an assist for Kuhn’s goal. Replaced by Anthony Ralston in the 73rd minute.
Liam Scales – 6
Was solid enough but was drawn out of position just before Watkins hit the post in the first half. Looked fairly comfortable partnering up with Trusty as cover for Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Auston Trusty – 6
Was once again solid enough as Trusty carried on his decent form for Celtic. Showing signs of developing into a very good defender for Celtic.
Greg Taylor – 6
Wasn’t really as effective in the attacking third and struggled to get himself up the park. Was solid enough defensively but may have also been at fault for not tracking Watkins as the Killie forward hit the post in the first half.
Arne Engels – 5
Was fairly anonymous in the first half and didn’t really get going in the second. Was man-marked out the game and was replaced by Bernardo in the 63rd minute.
Callum McGregor – 7
Decent performance from the Celtic captain and was rewarded with a fortuitous goal just at the stroke of halftime as he tried to thread in Adam Idah.
Reo Hatate – 6
Like Engels, didn’t really impact the game as he has done over the last few fixtures for Celtic. Still full of energy and running and tried to break the lines on a few occasions but wasn’t as effective as he normally was. Was fortunate not to see red for a high boot in the 79th minute. Replaces by Luke McCowan in the 85th minute.
Nicolas Kuhn – 8
Another good performance from the German winger as his pace and passing caused Derek McInnes’ side problems in the first half. Should have scored in the second half after being put clean through by Adam Idah. Replaced by James Forrest in the 73rd minute.
Daizen Maeda – 6
Made a few darting runs and had the beating of the Killie right-back on a number of occasions. Just couldn’t make enough of the final ball.
Adam Idah – 7
Was a bit of a pest for the Kilmarnock defence as his physicality caused problems for the home side. Was clattered in the first half but didn’t let it phase him. Had two good chances in the first half and created a great opening for Kuhn but the German hit straight to Robbie McCrorie. Subbed for Kyogo Furuhashi in the 63rd minute.
Paulo Bernardo (sub) – 6
Replaced Arne Engels and tried to support the Celtic attack. Passing was crisp and battled to win the ball back in the heart of midfield.
Kyogo Furuhashi (sub) – 6
Had 30 minutes to try and make an impact in the game and caused some issues for the Kilmarnock defence and had a penalty shout after being pole-axed in the penalty box.
Anthony Ralston (sub) – 6
Given 20 minutes to help Celtic see out the win and came on when the game was sitting at 2-0 and almost out of sight of Kilmarnock. Was his usual reliable self.
James Forrest (sub) – 5
Replaced Kuhn who ran himself into the ground. Didn’t really get the opportunity to get involved in the game much.
Luke McCowan (sub)- 5
Replaced Hatate late on and had a shot on goal late on. Didn’t really have enough time to make a material impact on the game.
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