The real reason Maik Nawrocki was dropped for Auston Trusty as Celtic lose to St Johnstone

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A weekend to forget for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers.

One of the surprises of the season, as Celtic were beaten at St Johnstone and their title party was delayed by the Premiership’s bottom table club.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	31	25	3	3	92	20	72	78
2	RangersRangers	32	20	5	7	66	33	33	65
3	HibernianHibernian	32	13	11	8	50	41	9	50
4	AberdeenAberdeen	32	14	7	11	43	47	-4	49
5	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	31	12	8	11	39	40	-1	44
6	Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian	31	11	6	14	43	43	0	39
7	St MirrenSt Mirren	32	11	5	16	42	52	-10	38
8	MotherwellMotherwell	32	11	5	16	37	56	-19	38
9	KilmarnockKilmarnock	32	9	8	15	37	53	-16	35
10	Ross CountyRoss County	32	9	8	15	31	53	-22	35
11	DundeeDundee	32	9	7	16	50	67	-17	34
12	St JohnstoneSt Johnstone	31	7	5	19	32	57	-25	26

It’s not what the doctor ordered, with another iffy display from the champions-elect, especially on the road and since the turn of the year.

Before the game, Rodgers made a change to his backline following Celtic’s comfortable win against Hearts last time out, and that’s dropping Maik Nawrocki to the bench.

Auston Trusty was the man to come into the XI, with the summer signing taking up his usual role alongside his fellow countryman, Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Now, it’s not the reason why Celtic lost and dropped surprising points, but why did Rodgers make such a call?

• READ MORE: What Celtic really said about Maik Nawrocki as Legia Warsaw’s ex-boss lifts lid on scout reports

Why Maik Nawrocki was dropped for Auston Trusty as Celtic lose to St Johnstone

Nawrocki has performed well any time he has been given a chance – and they have been rare – especially the clean sheet against Hearts last week.

But the Celtic manager wanted more balance to the backline, and that ‘left-footed’ option, hence why Nawrocki was put back on the bench.

Trusty has returned from injury, so Rodgers didn’t waste any time in making that call, as he explained to BBC Sport.

“I prefer a left-footed centre-half, it felt natural to put [Auston Trusty] back in,” shared Rodgers.

“Every game is different, we played really well here earlier in the season. We want to be able to bring that performance again today.

“The level of our football was fast and dynamic, and we want to do that again. We know we have to be aggressive in our counter-pressing.”

Trusty’s stats for Celtic against St Johnstone

So, how did Trusty fare upon his return to the starting XI? That early goal from St Johnstone was poor, as none of the backline dealt with the vicious set-piece.

The issue is that the goalscorer – Daniels Balodis – had threatened to score in the same fashion just minutes before, and then got his reward.

Overall, WhoScored rated Trusty’s performance at just under seven compared to the 7.54 handed to Carter-Vickers.