Celtic continued their winning ways during the Christmas period with a 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park on Boxing Day.
Paulo Bernardo was the player to net the crucial opening goal in the 52nd minute after several golden chances were spurned by attacking talents such as Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma.
Substitute Mikey Johnston then scored from distance after the Dundee goalkeeper fumbled his shot, giving the away side a cushion in the closing stages.
The winger then piled the misery on the Dees with a more convincing stoppage-time effort, in what was a fine cameo for the Irish international.
The Bhoys peppered the Dundee goal throughout the match and arguably should have put the game to bed far earlier, but the most important thing is that three more points have been banked ahead of the weekend’s huge derby at home to Rangers.
What are the big talking points coming out of the fixture? Here are three of ours.
Paulo Bernardo steps up for Celtic
Bernardo has hardly been a go-to guy for manager Brendan Rodgers this season, especially in the Premiership. When he has played, he’s not been a huge goal threat either.
So it was a big boost to see him to make such a crucial contribution this afternoon, poking the ball through Trevor Carson’s legs after a fine, weighted through ball from Luis Palma.
On a day that Celtic were profligate in front of goal before his opener, they badly needed someone to step up. It was hardly a beautiful, convincing finish from the Portuguese but it got the job done and really the goal was made by his clever run.
Hopefully, being today’s unlikely hero provides Bernardo with a confidence boost to contribute more consistently throughout the rest of the season.
Big Cameron Carter-Vickers worry for Celtic
American international Cameron Carter-Vickers is Celtic’s most crucial defender and a key player for the Bhoys, so to see him limp off midway through the second half was a real concern.
The nature of Carter-Vickers’ issue at the time of publishing is unknown but it would be no surprise if he has again aggravated an ongoing hamstring issue that has kept him out for various spells this season.
Stephen Welsh came on for him from the bench and, with Carter-Vickers now a major doubt, he could partner Liam Scales for that upcoming match against Rangers.
That’s far from an ideal situation. We’ll have an update from Rodgers on Carter-Vickers’ status as soon as we hear from the manager.
Another gut-check moment for the Bhoys
Having spurned chances in the first half and going into the interval with big frustrations, it was a test for the Bhoys to come out in the second half and put Dundee away today.
There are undoubtedly kinks to iron out in the way Celtic are performing right now. Too many attacking opportunities were spurned in the early stages.
Encouragingly though the team did get back to creating a lot of chances. Creativity wasn’t the issue today, when it had been in recent poor performances – most notably in the defeat to Hearts.
The biggest test of this period is still ahead in the derby, but six points from six is a good way to go into that one just when it looked like Celtic’s season was at risk of derailing.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers sets the record straight with Chris Sutton after Celtic comments.
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