Celtic’s win over Kilmarnock, in my view, has sent a message to the rest of Scottish football.
Despite Brendan Rodgers still needing to add players to his Celtic squad before the transfer window closes in September, the ease at which his current Celtic team took care of Kilmarnock will undoubtedly serve as a warning to our rivals.
With four different goalscorers getting into the action, it seems that from the defenders upwards every member of the Celtic team will be looking to be a goal threat whenever they pull on that jersey.
And to back that up, BBC pundit, Michael Stewart has shared what he saw Celtic did against Kilmarnock that was so different to what he saw them do last season that made it ‘pretty obvious ‘impossible for Derek McInnes’ team to play football.
How Celtic made it ‘impossible’ for Kilmarnock’s defenders
McInnes had to stand and watch his team being pegged back in their own half for almost every minute of the game at Celtic Park yesterday.
Stewart said that Celtic’s press and passing were key in making it difficult for the Ayrshire side to play any kind of football.
Stewart said [Sportscene], “I mean look, there’s no question that they’re going to be looking at needing to strengthen to have an impact in Europe but the improvement from the overall squad today was quite clear to see.
“And for me O’Riley, winning it back, the quick interchange as soon as they win the ball, and then they’re able to get the strike away with Hatate.
“That was the big difference for me especially the earlier parts of last season for me was the intensity that Celtic play at.
“Part of that is the stronger players in the squad being back in the team we saw at the end of last season.
“But sometimes the opening games, and we’ve seen it already on the opening weekend here that some of the teams have been a little bit slow to get going, not for Celtic.
“And in a large part, the tempo from them all out of possession, harassing the opponent, straightaway winning the ball back high up the park.
“Constantly moving, one touch, two touch, three touch, very seldom was it more than three touches from a player makes it impossible to defend against at times.”
You could see from the first whistle the intent Celtic had going into the game. The attacking intent was provided by James Forrest and Nicolas Kuhn on the wings as Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate looked to burst through the middle of the park.
Celtic looking strong after just one game
Celtic are looking good for the defence of the title and after just one fixture are showing that they are going to be difficult to beat this season.
The confidence looks high, Brendan Rodgers is also sounding very motivated and from the football on show yesterday, it seems that the team are all on the same page.
And to think, if Rodgers starts adding the quality that he’s after, it’s scary to think just how dominant this Celtic side will be this season.
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