Stiliyan Petrov states a ‘problem’ in Reo Hatate’s game that has been ‘created’ at Celtic

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Reo Hatate scored some much-needed goals for Celtic at the weekend.

Following Celtic’s defeat to St Johnstone last week, everyone knew that changes were going to be made for the visit of Kilmarnock.

In some cases, it was obvious who was going to be in the firing line, including the struggling Nicolas Kuhn, but many wondered if Hatate would keep his place in the XI.

The Japan star managed to stay out of the firing line, and not only put in a strong display, but score two goals inside 24 minutes.

It was much-needed from Hatate, and it shows the quality he has in his locker when he is absolutely at it and performing at his best.

The only issue is that, sometimes, you would like to see more consistency from the all-action midfielder.

Stiliyan Petrov has been in Hatate’s shoes, and he understands the pressures of playing for a club like Celtic, as he shared an interesting take on the player.

• READ MORE: Celtic-mad pundit disagrees with what he is hearing about Reo Hatate and Olivier Ntcham

A ‘problem’ with Reo Hatate’s game at Celtic

One of the changes Brendan Rodgers made from the Perth defeat was to start Adam Idah, and shift Daizen Maeda out wide.

From Kyogo Furuhashi starting up top, to Idah, and then the exploding form of Maeda, many players have utilised that number nine role this term.

Petrov feels this is an issue and a ‘problem’ in Hatate’s game, because he needs that out-and-out striker up top, and that was proven by how Idah helped him score his goals against Killie, as he told Sky Sports Football (12/04/25).

“I love him, I love him as a player,” said Petrov about Hatate. “I think he has got a lot more space for improvement. I think his awareness around the pitch is really good. Technically, he is really good. He does score goals. He scores some important goals.

“We have seen against Kilmarnock, even the second goal, the movement Idah has created for him to just pull back, and he was really calm when the ball came. I think he is doing really well.

“As a midfielder, you are always going to be under pressure when you don’t score goals, because at a club like Celtic, you have to score goals. You have to contribute, and he has been really strong with that.

“I have been through periods like that. If you don’t score in a couple of games, then people start asking questions. But what you do is go and prove them wrong, that’s what he did against Kilmarnock. He has shown that he can do it constantly.

“Like I said, playing with different strikers all the time does create a problem. I think, with Idah playing and Maeda going wide, I think it gives him more space and opportunity to get into a goalscoring position.”

Hatate’s season in numbers

Go back to Celtic’s win over RB Leipzig, one of the best displays you will see from a Celtic side in Europe.

Hatate was out of this world on that day, the best player on the pitch, and it’s a reason why he has so many huge admirers.

But in the overall picture, WhoScored have rated his performances in Europe and the Premiership at just under seven.