Many will tell you not to get excited just because Celtic beat Dundee. But let’s be honest, can you really be bothered listening to them?
Yes, the Hoops will have stiffer tests than what they encountered at Parkhead this afternoon. However, the 6-0 win against the Dee was as good a performance as we’ve seen from Ange Postecoglou’s men.
There was a zip to our play all over the pitch. The defending was tidy and filled with a no-nonsense approach. The combination play between the wing-backs and the wingers was slick. As for the service to Kyogo Furuhashi? Sublime.
Celtic managed to continue their recent run of superb chance creation levels. Once again they could’ve ended the game having scored seven or eight goals. Maybe even by half-time! That’s an area the manager will be itching to make the most of in the future.
But today, you couldn’t help but be overjoyed as got our first three points on the board in this season’s Premiership campaign. And here, we take a look at three key things we learned from the contest:
Kyogo Furuhashi is Celtic’s new number 1 striker
Let’s not even kid on anymore. Furuhashi is Celtic’s number one striker now. He has the jersey and he doesn’t deserve to have it taken from him. He’s in a sensational place after bagging his first hattrick at Parkhead this afternoon, but it was the nature of his goals that will have caught the eye.
All of them required superb movement in the penalty box to find some room amid the Dundee defence. Firstly, he beautifully connected with a fine Liel Abada ball across the face of goal. For goal number two, a superb dummy run before moving off his man to the back stick. Christie’s delivery was pinpoint, and Kyogo didn’t need a second opportunity. As for the third? More sublime work from Christie to set up Furuhashi, who finished expertly.
Just like against Jablonec, Furuhashi was bossing the opposition backline. Let’s not forget he should’ve buried one early on in the first half too after some superb combination play with Rogic. He also could’ve had five or six goals alone today.
He’s simply exciting fans more than Odsonne Edouard was doing. This isn’t supposed to be a dig at the Frenchman. We know what he’s capable of. But we simply haven’t seen enough of it.
Postecoglou may feel inclined to shake things up for the second leg against Jablonec. But truthfully? He should be doing anything but. Give Kyogo the minutes and see if he can build on his first few goals in a Celtic jersey.
Stephen Welsh and Carl Starfelt is our main centre-back partnership….for now
There has been so much chopping and changing with the backline in recent weeks. This has undoubtedly played a part in the defensive errors we’ve seen in recent weeks.
However, today should see the end of any notion that Nir Bitton is part of our strongest centre-back partnership. Not because a win against Dundee shows you have a solid backline. But because Starfelt and Welsh now have something to build on together.
Once again, you could see how nervous Starfelt was at the beginning of the game. In the first 20 minutes in particular, he was a touch slack with his passing. Too many of his touches looked uncontrolled.
But the more dominance Celtic had on the game, the more comfortable he looked. Starfelt started rolling around the passes between himself and his centre-back partner. He started to grow more confident in the passes he was making, making bolder passes to the wingbacks.
With a clean sheet to their name, it’s now clear that Welsh and Starfelt is the partnership to go with. At least until Christopher Jullien is back from injury.
There is an argument there to say that another centre-back option is still a requirement. However, when Jullien comes back, Celtic should have the options available to press ahead.
For now, both jerseys belong to Welsh and Starfelt respectively.
Tom Rogic’s latest renaissance is now underway
One of the biggest surprises of the day was Postecoglou’s decision to throw in Tom Rogic.
Tom had appeared in all four of Celtic’s competitive matches heading into today’s match. But never from the start of proceedings. Today he bucked that trend and threw his countryman into the mix.
It’s fair to say Rogic had a fairly quiet first half. Whilst he continued to be his usual tidy self on the ball, it was the likes of Ryan Christie, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Liel Abada who were stealing the headlines.
In the second half, however, he would put his own stamp on the game. Advancing into the area, he collected Christie’s low cross to slow beyond the Dundee goalkeeper first-time.
After that, he was getting in on the action a touch more. He was making key passes whenever Celtic turned up the tempo and always made himself available. At least before he was taken off with 25 minutes to go.
It’s difficult to know what this decision by Postecoglou signifies. Was it simply the manager trying to use his squad ahead of a hectic schedule? Or is he giving Rogic a sustained run in the team due to his displays in training?
Only time will tell. Rogic has certainly had plenty of false dawns in the past. But today he put a strong showing in along with many of his teammates. It’ll be interesting to see what this leads to.
In other news, Celtic-linked Brandon Soppy nowhere to be seen in Rennes squad for Ligue 1 opener
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