With Celtic playing tomorrow, and Rangers having squeaked past Aberdeen earlier today, the table – and the title race – has an interesting look to it.
After months of being told Ange Postecoglou was a no-hoper, Celtic were useless defensively and we’d be out of the title race by December, there we are. Still top [BBC]. Granted, the very thing that’s been speculated about since the turn of the year – a tight title race – is now very much on.
We know all about the test Celtic have tomorrow. But even then, there’s something at play that gives the Hoops a real edge. For all of the “kamikaze” defending and early losses, it’s Celtic that hold the advantage. If the league finished today, we’d win. Fine, that goes down the “if I had wheels I’d be a bike logic”, but stay with me.
Celtic have a far, far superior goal advantage. We’ve scored 62, and conceded just 17 from 29 games. We lead Rangers with a goal difference of 9.
It may seem insignificant just now – maybe it is – but it points to a few different things. The first is that this Celtic team is performing to an excellent standard at both ends of the park. In the league, since the turn of the year, Celtic have shipped just 5 goals [Sky Sports].
We’ve beaten teams by 2 or 3 goals with incredible regularity. The second goal against St Mirren the other night may have been icing on the cake, but it also serves a real, credible purpose. Or, certainly, it will if the league comes down to goal difference this season.
And on current form, from both ourselves and Rangers, that looks like a credible possibility.
For Celtic, the title race is well and truly on, but the signs are overwhelmingly positive
Of course, anything can happen from now until the end of the season. Everyone knows that, nobody in their right mind is calling the title yet.
Plenty with questionable knowledge were calling it before it was kicked, or in August. That’s as may be. It’s Celtic in the ascendency though.
Postecoglou’s side are masterfully drilled at this point. When we conceded twice to Dundee, it was more surprising than anything else. We managed to overcome, but there were lessons learnt from that game. We’ve not conceded in the league since.
There is still plenty to work on; we’re still vulnerable from set pieces, for example. But all this fear about not being able to negotiate against a low block, or defensively stuffy teams, is hyperbole more than reality at this point. We face defensively-minded teams all the time, and beat them.
Yes, tomorrow is a scary prospect. But do you really see, even if it goes badly, Livingston significantly denting our goal difference? Or putting a real, incurable spanner in the works that derails us completely?
It’s hard to see it. Postecoglou has his team solid at the back, and with plenty of threat going forward. We’ve set ourselves up in an enviable position.
If this goes down to the wire – and be warned, it really could – I’d rather be of a Green and White persuasion right now than a Blue one.
Read more: It’s hard to know what the plan is for Celtic summer signing
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
