Celtic surged to a comfortable 4-2 victory over visitors Ross County on Saturday, getting the season off to a solid start in front of a buoyant home crowd.
David Turnbull grabbed a double with Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley also amongst the goalscorers. Celtic dominated the match despite a rusty opening 15-minute spell. Second-half goals from County did come, but there was never any real hope on their part that points would be taken.
New manager Brendan Rodgers is already getting a tune out of this Celtic squad and there are promising signs that those who excelled under previous bosses will do so again.
But what are the main talking points and what can we take away from today’s 90 minutes? Here are three of ours after a fine start to the Scottish Premiership campaign…
Big Brendan Rodgers call pays off
One of the curious selection decisions pre-match was picking Turnbull over Reo Hatate. Most would consider Hatate to be the more talented player, but the manager went for someone he thought could better contribute towards the overall team performance.
It has to be said, that call paid off handsomely. Turnbull looked just as confident and ready to impress as he did against Athletic Club on Tuesday night, showing he fully deserved his place in the starting eleven.
The midfielder netted an early penalty before helping spark the move that led to Kyogo’s goal. He was on hand to latch on to a Matt O’Riley cross to net a brace, too. It’ll be hard to justify dropping him for next weekend based on this form and he could well become a player that is wholly rejuvenated under Rodgers.
Kyogo’s creative playmaking role
Kyogo started as the side’s centre-forward today but that statement alone doesn’t provide an accurate overview of his role in this afternoon’s performance.
The Japanese international was given the license to drop deep and create chances as well as score them, showing off his movement and playmaking skills. It absolutely bamboozled the County defence.
He was expertly feeding in players running around him after dropping into the midfield area rather than spearheading the attacking line. It directly led to two Celtic goals on the day. His poaching and in-the-box skills were still evident, too, expertly getting on to the end of a low Liel Abada cross after a breakaway.
Without doubt he is the best player in Scotland and today showed he is even more versatile than many people think.
Maik Nawrocki impresses
The new defensive signing got the chance to build a partnership with stalwart Cameron Carter-Vickers today amidst transfer rumours surrounding Carl Starfelt. He got 67 minutes under his belt and didn’t disappoint.
Despite conceding a needless corner early on, Nawrocki grew into the game and showed he can be an aggressive performer off the ball and a composed contributor on it. He was slick in possession.
Celtic’s centre-backs often get the most of the ball in Premiership matches so it’s crucial they use it well. Nawrocki showed he is capable of driving play forward into the opposition half and final third.
It’s still very early days but on this showing it’s clear Celtic have a talent on their hands. And he’s only going to get better.
In other news, Celtic watch on as SFA address wild Rangers penalty streak and transparency issues.
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