Hyunjun Yang has earned praise from Andy Halliday for providing a relentless defensive engine that firmly sets him apart from his attacking teammates following Celtic’s win over Motherwell at the weekend.
While wide players are often judged entirely on goals and assists, Halliday, who was sat on the bench at Parkhead, was quick to highlight the crucial off-the-ball effort that makes the South Korean such a vital tactical asset for Celtic.
Bringing the comparison directly to fellow winger Sebastian Tounekti early in his assessment, the Motherwell midfielder detailed exactly what makes the difference out of possession, noting that Yang delivers an ‘unbelievable’ output off the ball, adding, ‘Whereas that’s not really Tounekti.’
That phenomenal work rate proved to be a constant tactical nuisance throughout the weekend’s tussle, as Yang netted a brace against ten-man Motherwell.
Celtic boosted their title chances against a very tricky opponent, thanks to Yang’s efforts, as well as Tomas Cvancara’s second-half penalty, but it’s going to take more than that to get over that title line.
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Andy Halliday gives Hyunjun Yang his flowers after Celtic brace against Motherwell
Instead of focusing solely on Yang’s attacking flair, Halliday observed that the revived Celtic man ‘did loads of work defensively’, while operating out wide, executing Martin O’Neill’s out-of-possession demands to perfection and setting the tone for his teammates.
This individual effort ultimately served as the catalyst for a much wider shift in momentum after the break.
The sheer energy provided by the winger allowed the entire Celtic team to push higher and completely suffocate the opposition.
By aggressively cutting off passing lanes and tracking back to help his full-back, Yang ensured the opposition ‘never really had that easy free option’ and were constantly forced into playing backwards, as Halliday told Open Goal.
“I thought Yang, Hatate, and I thought Arthur were good as well,” said Halliday. “They were probably the ones that stood out for Celtic.
“See one thing I will say about Yang as well, even when he isn’t playing well, his output off the ball is unbelievable. Whereas that’s not really Tounekti.
“Aye, Yang was up against Mane (Emmanuel Longelo). I thought he did loads of work defensively for Celtic as well.
“The biggest thing for me is Celtic’s press in the second half. They were a lot more man-for-man. I thought they were a lot more aggressive in the opposite of the ball, if that makes sense. We never really had that easy free option. We passed back a lot more.”
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