There were a few changes to Celtic’s XI for the trip to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Celtic beat Kilmarnock with a stoppage-time penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho, with debutants, some relatively new faces and academy players starting.
One of the names Brendan Rodgers put on the bench was Kieran Tierney, as fellow summer signing Marcelo Saracchi replaced him at left-back.
Before a ball was kicked at Rugby Park, Rodgers explained why he opted against starting his regular left-back.
Why Kieran Tierney was on the bench for Celtic against Kilmarnock
Tierney pulled out of international duty with Scotland, alongside Anthony Ralston, over the September break.
It seems as though whatever issues Tierney had weren’t serious, but because he had ‘only trained the last couple of days’ before the Killie match, Rodgers opted against putting him in the starting XI.
Speaking to Celtic TV, with an ‘experienced’ player like Saracchi to pick from, Rodgers was confident of making that move, and it paid off.
“Kieran, quite not ready,” said Rodgers. “He has been out from the international break, and he has only trained the last couple of days, so not quite ready.
“But that’s why we bring in Marcelo. He can come in, and he is an experienced player.”
Marcelo Saracchi’s stats for Celtic against Kilmarnock
Before Daizen Maeda opened the scoring in the second half, Celtic were searching for that spark and something to ignite another game that was heading towards 0-0.
That’s when Saracchi, who joined on loan from Boca Juniors, put in a delightful early cross, and it was brilliantly headed home by Maeda.
It was the best moment of the match, and overall, Celtic’s back-up fullback more than looked like he belonged in the famous green and white colours.
- Passes: 73
- Key Passes: 1
- Passing Accuracy: 84.9%
- Accurate crosses: 1
- Assists: 1
- Accurate long ball: 1
- Aerials won: 2
- Clearances: 1
- Touches: 83
- WhoScored Rating: 7.38
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