Celtic star Nir Bitton was at it again last night for Israel as he strolled a vital clash against Scotland in his homeland.
Indeed, it was the battle of the Celts in Israel last night, with Bitton coming up against Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor, and Leigh Griffiths last night. And in the end, Bitton managed to snuff them all out and secure a priceless win for the Israelis.
Manor Solomon’s first half goal was the difference on paper, but Bitton shutting down Scotland’s attacks was another key reason for the result.
WhoScored ranked the Celtic man with a fine 7.4/10 rating. The notoriously harsh stat experts clocked him as having as many as 71 touches of the ball, as well as three interceptions and three clearances.
He managed to deal with the likes of Lyndon Dykes and Christie superbly, as Scotland often struggled to break down the final Israel defensive barrier despite seeing the vast majority of the ball in spells.
Question marks have always been raised about Bitton’s suitability for the centre-back role. Yet he continues to prove his doubters wrong, and he did so once again in last night’s contest as dealt with Scotland’s Euro 2020 heroes.
There were one or two moments that made you raise an eyebrow at times. Bitton was far too easily rolled by John McGinn at one stage in the second half in particular, but these lapses against a team whose confidence was sky-high were rare.
Should Bitton be thrown in at the back against Hibs at the weekend, you couldn’t really complain. Such was the way in which he bossed Dykes and helped keep Griffiths quiet, it’s easy to believe he could do the same to Christian Doidge and Kevin Nisbet too.
Remember, Bitton was part of the back three that kept the Hibs strike duo out in a 3-0 success over them at Parkhead in September. He strolled it that day just as he strolled it last night and would likely stroll it at Easter Road.
Here, we take a look at some of the reaction as Bitton continued to prove his doubters wrong:
https://twitter.com/LewisLaird01/status/1329175738591940617
https://twitter.com/_stephenmooney7/status/1329175818673795083
In other news, the Daily Record reported a big blow for Celtic last night, but all isn’t as it seems.
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