Brendan Rodgers showed adaptability by changing his Celtic tactics last weekend, fielding two strikers in his side’s 2-0 victory over St Mirren.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah were drafted in as a partnership, with the former playing a slightly deeper role at the SMiSA Stadium.
Working to the Bhoys’ advantage, the Japan international was able to get himself on the scoresheet after arriving to meet a smart cutback from Luis Palma before slotting home from the edge of the area.
At times, Rodgers’ instructions saw Furuhashi drift into advanced midfield zones on either side to pick up possession.
Meanwhile, Idah’s presence helped to occupy the Buddies’ defence, affording his counterpart time and space on the ball to cause problems.
Seeing the Hoops’ manager roll the dice on Scottish Cup duty was a nice surprise, and his formation switch has potentially opened up a plan B for Celtic if they aren’t able to pick the lock in their default shape.
Whether this will be a long-term fix is another question, though we will soon find out, as the Scottish Premiership holders welcome Kilmarnock to Parkhead on Saturday.
Derek McInnes has already masterminded two victories over Rodgers this campaign at Rugby Park, which may prompt the Irishman to stick with his new formula in search of a crucial three points.
Brendan Rodgers explains why Celtic fielded two strikers
Deviating away from a system is a brave move, and Rodgers should be applauded for having the courage to freshen things up successfully.
Speaking to Celtic TV, the 51-year-old has given a deep dive into how he factored Idah and Furuhashi into the same system on the day.
He stated: “I think what you’ll find without overthinking it when we press the ball, we’re normally pressing in 4-4-2, so having the two strikers up there is fine, everything else is the same.
“With the ball, we get into areas where, really, if you take away what position the player is and what type he is, you’ll find that the team is in structure in a lot of the same positions.
“Sometimes, having that extra striker in with that extra mentality to want to get up there like we seen with Kyogo. When we broke away, you could argue whether a midfield player gets up there that quickly to join in.”
He later added: “Whenever you have someone like Adam who can run in behind, and he can be a reference for you, it gives Kyogo that bit more freedom to drop underneath if he wants to.”
Brendan Rodgers is showing tactical flexibility at Celtic
Sometimes in football, there is a need for a minor reshuffle on the pitch to avoid lethargic performances, which Celtic were becoming prone to before Sunday’s triumph.
Tactical flexibility doesn’t always require wholesale changes; however, even the smallest divergence in strategy can spike productivity by a considerable margin within a squad.
Rodgers has clearly identified one or two areas where his side needs to do more, and his implementation of a different system led the Bhoys to a comfortable victory.
As long as positive results keep rolling in, the Parkhead support will be happy for the ex-Liverpool coach to do whatever he sees fit come matchday.
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