Callum McGregor has been speaking about a tactical tweak that Celtic fans witnessed against Wolves.
It was a 1-1 draw for Brendan Rodgers men in Dublin in a game we could conceivably have won.
Celtic scored and hit the woodwork twice in the first-half, while several other good positions were spoiled by a poor final ball.
The majority of our success seemed to come from a more direct playing style. Regularly, McGregor would find the likes of Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda in acres of space behind the Wolves backline.
It’s something we picked up on in our ‘3 things we learned‘ article, while McGregor was asked about it post-match too.
“We’ve got so much pace in the team and so many willing runners,” he told Viaplay Sports.
“Guys like Kyogo, Daizen, Liel, even the midfield boys, sometimes it’s quicker to go in behind with one pass.
“We don’t want to be a team that’s always short, short. We want to hurt teams in behind as well. There were some good instances of that today.
“I thought the majority of the game we played really well, created some really good chances. On another day we could have gone on and won the game.”
Celtic have been known for their short passing in recent years. Our neat play has been a joy to watch at times.
But a more direct style was very effective against Wolves in Dublin, especially in the first-half when Abada and Maeda were always making the run in behind.
When either of those two find space there is real danger about this Celtic team. Mainly because Kyogo is usually unmarked in the middle waiting for the ball.
It has been a hallmark of our play over the past two seasons, but it seems like we may see even more evidence of it under Rodgers. Especially against sides who push up high.
Of course, Ross County are unlikely to give us as much space in behind as Wolves did today. But Celtic can still pick their moments. When we do it could be deadly.
In other news, Wolves defender Matt Doherty has been speaking after the game
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