After another blank from the front-men, Sunday proved that Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths don’t work as a partnership.
Celtic could only muster a 1-0 win at home to Hamilton at Celtic Park yesterday. The draw left a lot of supporters frustrated, with many hoping for a more convincing win over Martin Canning’s Accies.
Brendan Rodgers decided to go with the much sought after two up top. Selected in that were both Dembele and Griffiths. This is a combination that fans have been screaming out for in the past.
However, when it came down to it, the combination just didn’t work.
Both Dembele and Griffiths only have one thing on their minds – scoring goals. This leads to their games struggling to compliment each other. Dembele in particular had a tough day yesterday, missing several big chances.
The other big fault that both have is greed. There remains a competition for the number one striking jersey between the pair. It’s a rivalry that’s been going on for over two years now since the Frenchman signed for the club back in 2016.
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This often leads to each player taking opportunities on their own instead of setting each other up. A burning desire to impress Rodgers and the Celtic support seems to cloud their decision-making abilities when pairing up.
It’s not something that’s generally the case when Rodgers goes with one up top. Dembele in particular can seriously thrive in that role, given the freedom of the final third to bully defenders around.
There’s also the circumstance that Odsonne Edouard returns to the side in the coming weeks. Unlike Griffiths, former PSG kid Edouard has hit it off with Dembele in the past.
The youngster is close to returning from an injury, so it’ll be interesting to see if Edouard will come right back into the side at Griffiths’ expense.
This will be a concern to the former Hibernian forward. Griffiths has struggled to make an impact since getting a run in the side. Starting with the defeat to Hearts, Griffiths has had several opportunities yet failed to impress.
He deserved an opportunity to build on his strike against Partick Thistle last weekend. However, when given it, he’s failed to ignite excitement amongst supporters.
Rodgers continues to have a big decision to make regarding his formation.
When Edouard is fit, there must be a temptation to return to the 3-5-2 formation that was so successful at the start of the season.
One thing is for sure, however, and that’s that Griffiths and Dembele can’t continue to pair with each other.