Dribbling king, creative forces; The standout data from Celtic’s rout of Aberdeen

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Celtic strolled to an incredible 6-0 win over Aberdeen yesterday and the data backs up just how dominant the Bhoys were beyond the scoreline.

FotMob data has revealed that Celtic had 78% of possession and an expected goals (xG) of 4.55 meaning the Bhoys were clinical in front of goal scoring more goals than data the suggests they should have.

Aberdeen’s xG in the match was just 0.18. Celtic completely nullified any attacking threat from the Dons.

Kyogo Furuhashi got his first goal in four games and racked up a personal xG of 1.58, the highest in the match. This emphasizes that he is still Celtic’s top goal threat, despite having to go off injured in the second half.

Hyengou Oh was also prolific in the game, scoring two goals from an xG of 1.11. He is a man full of confidence, despite doubts over his ability to replace Kyogo when called upon. Oh has consistently demonstrated the ability to rack up high xG numbers off the bench, meaning that when he is brought onto the pitch, he can position himself in dangerous areas against tired legs in the later stages of games.

Matt O’Riley also had a great performance and somewhat went under the radar after the game. While Luis Palma garnered most of the praise for his creativity, it was O’Riley who had the highest expected assists (xA) of the match with 1.60 and managed one assist.

In comparison, Palma only had an xA of 0.62, showing he overperformed with a bit of genius by recording three assists yesterday. Palma had an xG of 0.86 but this can largely be attributed to the Honduran international taking Celtic’s penalty for the third goal.

David Turnbull continues to overperform the data surrounding the probability of goals scored, with an xG of 0.13 only the eighth highest of the match. Turnbull’s goal itself had an xG of 0.06, and the Hoops midfielder continues to somehow score goals that, statistically speaking, he is not expected to, highlighting the incredible goal-scoring ability he has outside the box.

Celtic’s progression of possession into the final third mostly came through Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with Scales recording a game-high 76 accurate forward zone passes and Carter-Vickers recording 73. This shows just how high up the pitch into Aberdeen’s half Celtic’s centre-backs were, with the Hoops’ full-backs usually putting up the highest accurate forward zone passes. Carter-Vickers was also instrumental in winning the ball high up the pitch recording the most recoveries with seven.

FotMob’s Man of the Match, with a FotMob rating of 9.71, was Luis Palma. He was followed by Matt O’Riley with a rating of 9.01, Oh with 8.92, and Hyunjun Yang with 8.55.

Having four players after the game, all with a rating above 8.00, is a great reflection of Celtic’s performance and Rodgers’ work as a manager. Yang’s rating is indicative of his excellent performance, which saw him complete six successful dribbles, the most of any player, and his goal, which, despite being in the box, only had an xG of 0.21.