Wilfried Nancy records his second win as the Celtic manager with a 4-2 win over Livingston at Almondvale.
The victory takes Celtic to within three points of Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after Derek McInnes’ side lost at Hibs.
Celtic eventually beat Livingston after the bottom of the table side came out fighting and opened the scoring on the third minute.
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What happened after that was a bizarre game of football that saw Celtic go behind twice in ten minutes to then take a 4-2 lead into half time as Wilfried Nancy’s attacking football finally saw off David Martindale’s side.
And speaking post match, the Celtic boss was over the moon as he delivered his verdict on a six-goal thriller that had fans on the edge of their seats.
What an insane start to the game
Wilfried Nancy tells Celtic fans ‘this is why I am here’ after brilliant result vs Livingston
The Celtic boss was over the moon with his second win of his Celtic career and tells the fans the football they are seeing is why he was brought to the club.
Speaking after the game, Nancy told BBC Radio Scotland, “I think that we could have controlled the game a little bit better, especially when we had to decide when we have to attack quick or when we have to keep the ball in their half, and I think that this is the next step.
“To be able to control this kind of game better and to be able to have more freshness for the next game. But I like the attitude. The attitude was really, really good.
“To distribute the competitive spirit was really, really good against a difficult team to play. The context, the pitch, and so on. So, really pleased.”
When asked by the BBC journalist if the exciting football that was on display is what the Celtic boss wants, Nancy replied, “Yes, again, this is why I’m here. This is also Celtic, the club is like that and this is also a way of life.
“And so for me, this is something that we have to do a little bit better. And again, can we score many goals, but also, can we defend better?
“And for me, I think that the way we want to do it, step by step, I can see really good stuff. But again, like today, we won, but like I said, I think that we could have done better second half. And I think that this is something that we’re going to work on for the future.”
The Celtic stats that show the strengths and weaknesses of Wilfried Nancy’s side
The stats on the BBC website show the strengths and weaknesses of Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic system right now.
Celtic controlled much of the match, but even at 4-2 up, the game was wide open as both teams looked for a goal in the second half.
However, the stats showed that while there is plenty for Celtic fans to get excited about on Nancy’s system, there is also plenty to have fans watching from behind their couches.
Celtic’s attacking stats
- Possession: 66.5%
- Shots: 18
- Shots on target: 7
- Passes inside Livingston’s final third: 124
- Crosses: 23
- Forward passes: 173
- Crosses: 23
- Clearances: 39
- xG: 3.88 [Fotmob]
Celtic’s swashbuckling style leaves Nancy’s side open to the counter-attack which Livingston exposed on a number of occasions, especially down the Bhoys’ flanks.
Livingston’s attacking stats
- Shots: 13
- Shots on target: 3
- Shots outside of box: 4
- Forward passes: 125
- Passes inside Celtic’s final third: 48
- Crosses: 31
Livingston still stretched Celtic despite Nancy’s side dominating possession and that will worry supporters when the team comes up against decent teams in the league and in Europe.
But for now, Celtic fans will enjoy this win knowing that the pressure is now on Hearts leading into the fixtures before the turn of the year where the Bhoys could potentially retake top spot before facing Rangers on the 3rd of January.
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