Celtic defender Greg Taylor was given a big opportunity to impress for Scotland this evening and can take some credit for his performance.
Taylor hadn’t started a competitive game for the Scots for over a year before tonight’s fixture but with injuries to Kieran Tierney and Andrew Robertson, Steve Clarke trusted him with the nod.
There was some sharp criticism for the left-back in the aftermath of Georgia’s opening goal with some fans on social media pointing out he should have done better to cut out a pass in the build-up to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s first of the night.
However, he did superbly in the opposition half to contribute towards Scotland’s equaliser through Scott McTominay. He quickly played a one-touch pass into Kenny McLean, who eventually fed the goal-hungry Manchester United star.
Taylor was a significant presence in the second half before being substituted in the 79th minute as Scotland pushed for another equaliser, which did come at 2-2. He was an important outlet on the left flank for Clarke’s side.
Celtic star amongst top-rated data performers for Scotland
With 69 touches, Taylor was busier than most on the pitch. He distributed his passes with 84% accuracy and 11 of them were into the opposition’s final third.
Impressively, he won all eight of his personal duels on the night – eight on the deck and two aerial battles. He managed to draw two fouls, won two tackles, made a clearance and an interception. He also completed a dribble of his own.
Taylor’s only real weak point was in his long passing, failing to complete any of his four attempts throughout the 90 minutes.
The Celtic defender was one of only four Scotland players who played at least an hour that rated 7.0 or above with data trackers FotMob. While Taylor remains an easy target for the boo boys, he was far from the worst performer and could get more minutes under his belt at home to Norway on Sunday.
Bhoys captain Callum McGregor played the entire 90 minutes of tonight’s game, with Anthony Ralston also winning a cap off the bench.
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