Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has explained the reasoning behind his defensive set-up against Ange Postecoglou’s side on Saturday.
Alongside the Hoops, Aberdeen returned to competitive action after a month-long domestic break due to the Qatar World Cup.
Postecoglou would have been expecting a tough start to restart the campaign, with Pittodrie being a potentially tricky venue.
Although the Bhoys had to wait until the 87th minute for Callum McGregor to produce a winner, it was a very dominant display from Celtic.
In the aftermath of the result, Jim Goodwin was criticised for the way he set his team up going into the game, as Aberdeen looked to frustrate the Hoops by playing a more defensive style.
Ultimately, Goodwin’s tactics didn’t pay off, and Postecoglou was the manager left delighted to come away with all three points.
Ahead of the Dons’ next game on Tuesday evening, Goodwin has responded to the questions asked about his team and tactical selection.
The former St Mirren manager explained that he put his side out with this game plan to stop the best team in the country as he look to deny the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda space.
He said [Sky Sports]: “We were playing against very good opposition in Celtic; they’ve been the best team in the country up until now, only lost one game in the league and have won every other fixture they’ve been involved in.
“So we tried to come up with a game plan that would contain them and frustrate them. We denied them a lot of space in behind, which is what the likes of Kyogo and Maeda want.
“And I thought we defended really, really well throughout the game. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do enough with the ball when we managed to retain possession.
“We turned over possession too cheaply. In the second half, we don’t offer a great deal going forward. So it was disappointing, it’s not a style of football that we’ve been used to this year, to be honest with you.
“We’ve been one of the highest scorers in the league at home up until now, and our fans at home in the main have been very well entertained.
“But unfortunately, on Saturday, it didn’t pay off. I think if we would have taken a 0-0 from the game, it would have been a great start to the campaign back after the World Cup break.
“Obviously, it’s been five weeks since our last competitive game; energy levels probably aren’t where you would like them to be at this particular moment in time. We just felt that was the best way to play the game.”
Celtic’s threats all over the pitch give Ange Postcoglou the upper hand against tactical plans.
As our Scottish Premiership rivals aim to come up with the best plan to stop Ange Postecoglou’s team, we have shown the ‘Never Stop’ attitude the manager has printed on his team.
Teams have attempted many different methods – from defensive plans to pressing up high up the pitch. Almost every time, Celtic come up with a way to win.
Ultimately, this is down to the sheer number of goal-scoring threats the Hoops have across the pitch.
Whilst Goodwin was attempting to stifle some of our strongest attacking players, it seems as though it is easy to forget that we have goal-scorers throughout the team.
Saturday’s game was the perfect example of this, with Callum McGregor being the game-winner in the end.
At this point in time, it is almost impossible for our opponents to create the perfect game plan with the number of options we have across the squad.
In other news, Greg Taylor labels Celtic teammate ‘irreplaceable’ after impressive display.
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