The Japan Tour has given the Celtic fans their first glimpse of their heroes and Brendan Rodgers tactics no less than three weeks until the new season kicks off.
There were lots of positives to take from the two friendlies against Yokohama F Marinos and Gamba Osaka and areas of improvement were also highlighted as Celtic came away from Japan with one defeat and a victory.
Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada both impressed with their link-up play in the final third of both games but it was the midfield partnership of Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate that impressed young Gamba Osaka winger Jiro Nakamura.
Nakamura said [Soccer Digest], “The captain who came on in the first half (Callum McGregor) was very good, and I thought Reo Hatate was also very good.
“I got the impression that they play with their opponents in mind, in the way they play off them, in the way they move the ball around.”
McGregor and Hatate have both been pivotal to Celtic’s success over the last two seasons. They have both developed a clear understanding of each other’s game and it looks like they could both combine to continue to be an effective weapon for Celtic next season.
What is also interesting is that Nakamura’s observations show a slight change in how Celtic now set up and play their game. Under Ange Postecoglou, the preparation was all about Celtic playing ‘our football’ and playing to our strengths.
Nakamura seems to have seen a slight change in the Celtic setup in that his comments seem to suggest that there is a little bit more emphasis now on how the opponents set up and how Celtic try to nullify their threats. Something that you could argue was missing from us under Postecoglou. Especially in Europe.
It will be interesting to see if this continues under Rodgers in the upcoming friendlies against Wolves and Athletic Bilbao. If it does, hopefully, this approach will see better performances, and results, for Celtic in Europe.
In other news, The Brendan Rodgers decision that could save Celtic millions in the transfer market
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