Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson believes that Celtic’s switch to a 3-5-2 led to the Hoops dominating yesterday’s encounter.
Celtic bounced back from their Champions League exit last week to secure a vital 3-0 home success against the Steelmen just over 24 hours ago.
The game was overshadowed by the fact that Neil Lennon didn’t start with a striker for the second consecutive match. And after 45 minutes of huffing and puffing, Celtic went in at the break fortunate to be 1-0 ahead.
Lennon threw on Patryk Klimala for the second half to give Celtic something to hit, but it was when Albian Ajeti came on during the final 20 minutes that chances really started to flow. And Robinson feels the changes clearly worked.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound after the match yesterday, the Fir Park boss said: “I think we were beaten by the better team, that states the obvious.
“It’s difficult against a team like that. You contain them for 30/40 minutes and you think ‘get to half-time, we’ll stay in the exact same shape and frustrate them until the last 10 minutes’. Which I thought we would’ve done.
“But Celtic changed it to a 3-5-2 at the start of the second half and just had total control of the game.”
The pros and cons of the 3-5-2
It’s always going to be a mystery as to why Lennon decided to drop the 3-5-2 upon our return to competitive football. Bearing in mind it was the formation that blew teams away last season, it’s still difficult to fathom the pros in ditching it for the 4-2-3-1.
However, in recent times, the manager has started to integrate it back in. Late on against Dundee United at Tannadice and the second half yesterday, the Hoops have looked a lot livelier after the manager switched to a three at the back.
This could be a positive sign that he’s ready to get it rolling again. Considering we should have at least three striking options fit and available for Ross County in two weeks’ time, the manager shouldn’t have to worry about depth when it comes to deciding his formation.
Of course, there are cons to it. It leaves an already struggling defence that little bit more exposed. With a currently under-performing Scott Brown often dropping deep to help out, it can be too easy for teams with pace to break the lines on the counter.
Yet with the quality Celtic have compared to the rest in Scotland, this isn’t something that should matter domestically. We will concede goals and have continued to concede them even in the 4-2-3-1 system.
It’s worth it to add that little bit more potency to the attack to ensure we’re deadlier going forward. Robinson’s comments show exactly what he believed changed the game. Hopefully, Lenny takes notice ahead of our return in Dingwall.
In other news, Celtic reportedly want to sign up a Premier League talent after early-season concerns.
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