Leigh Griffiths didn’t have his best game for Celtic away to Motherwell.
They striker missed a first half penalty which would have put his side 2-0 up heading into half time. His misery was compounded when Motherwell equalised late on to prevent Celtic going back to the top of the table.
Griffiths looked rusty at times, and it isn’t hard to see he’s just coming back from an injury.
However his link-up play to the midfielders was non-existent at times and his team really struggled due to this.
Griffiths was given the nod ahead of Odsonne Edouard to lead the line for Celtic at Fir Park.
The Hoops’ busy fixture schedule is beginning to take it’s toll on the squad. They will need both strikers firing on all cylinders in the next few weeks.
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With this in mind, Griffiths really could have done with taking his chance.
He has shown before he’s up to the challenge. However, he had a bit of a nightmare.
His first touch, which isn’t his strongest attribute, let him down in the first half especially.
The striker’s insistence on taking every set-piece Celtic win is also starting to hinder the team. He didn’t threaten with any of the free-kicks he attempted during the match.
His corners were poor too, but the referee did rob him of an assist. Kevin Clancy inexplicably blew for a ‘foul’ when Filip Benkovic superbly converted a cross from Griffiths.
His dead ball nightmare was complete when his poor penalty was easily saved by the Motherwell goalkeeper.
Getting rid of the rust
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Scotland striker is still a massive player for Brendan Rodgers. Perhaps he was just rusty, and needs a run of games to get up to speed.
Celtic’s problem is they really can’t afford him a run of games without expecting big performances.
Rodgers may decide to go back to the winning formula for Kilmarnock’s visit on Saturday. That means Griffiths returns to the bench and Edouard regains the starting berth.
If the Frenchman returns to his scoring ways, Griffiths may end up regretting his off night at Fir Park.