Celtic dropped points for the second time in the Premiership this season at Tannadice.
It was a pretty poor goalless draw from Celtic against Dundee United, but there were reasons behind it and the lead is still healthy at the top of the table.
After 16 matches, the Bhoys are nine points clear of second-placed Rangers, with a trip to Ibrox after the New Year on the horizon.
But for the Dundee United game, Rodgers made a host of changes from last week’s League Cup final win, including Nicolas Kuhn, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston and Auston Trusty missing.
That opened the door for Celtic’s fringe players to prove their worth and they didn’t take their chance in a game that lacked rhythm and final third quality.
Some were thrown into the deep end from the get-go, whilst others earned more minutes off the bench than usual.
Micheal Stewart says Luis Palma is ‘low on confidence’ after Celtic’s draw at Dundee United
Luis Palma is getting a lot of stick, and understandably so, but you can’t be too harsh on the player because he’s hardly been out there.
Less than 200 minutes of football this term, no rhythm or confidence in his game, so he isn’t going to exactly be at his sparkling best.
That was touched upon by Michael Stewart and how Dundee United’s Ryan Strain ‘had his number’ when he came onto the pitch, as he told Sportscene.
“You are talking about a lack of width,” said Stewart. “I think it was quite obvious and telling that he (Rodgers) has had Luis Palma on the park.
“It felt to me that Ryan Strain had his numbers a little bit and you could tell Luis Palma obviously is low on confidence as well.
“There are moments when it does go wide and you just need your wide man to be able drop the shoulder, beat the man and get into those areas close to the byline. Celtic, not just Palma, but all across the team, they didn’t get to those areas as often as they would have wanted to.”
Will Palma leave Celtic in January?
Celtic have gone up a level this season, you have players like Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo and Alex Valle on the bench.
The depth is quality has also grown, therefore, more pressure is put on every single player, including those sitting on the bench.
And there is the sense that Palma isn’t rising with this growing Celtic side and it has put his future into doubt ahead of the January transfer window re-opening.
Two clubs from the MLS are keen on Palma and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he heads for the exit door, with the player himself talking about his difficulties.
“Personally, it hasn’t been the kind of month I’ve wanted it to be, but the storm will pass and the calm will always come,” said Palma.
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