Celtic defender Moritz Jenz showcased against Hibernian how he is developing nicely into Ange Postecoglou’s attacking system at Parkhead.
The 23-year-old arrived from French Ligue 1 side Lorient in the summer and was quickly thrust into the action with injuries to Stephen Welsh and Carl Starfelt.
Although there has been some rotation in the Celtic backline, further injuries have led to the German being a mainstay within the side in recent times.
Jenz made a positive start to life at Celtic, scoring in his first two games and looking like a solid addition at the back in his opening few appearances.
However, there were a few fixtures where the defender looked slightly off his game, including the Hoops’ 2-0 loss against St Mirren.
Some might have started to question the former Fulham man. But, Jenz quickly bounced back, returned to form and has once again looked solid as part of the Celtic back four.
The return of Cameron Carter-Vickers seems to have aligned with the defender’s good performances in the last few games, as both players continue to develop a solid relationship.
As expected, Jenz kept his place as part of the back four in Saturday’s game against Hibernian, with Welsh and Starfelt missing out through injury.
And following on from a strong showing against RB Leipzig in midweek, the centre-back produced another decent display, in my opinion.
It wasn’t particularly Jenz’s defensive duties I would be focusing on in the majority of his praise, though, as we know all about them.
But instead, his positive play in possession against the Edinburgh side, which is absolutely crucial when playing as part of Ange Postecoglou’s system.
For all three of the Hoops opening goals in the first 45 minutes on Saturday, the defender played a big part in the build-up, producing some fantastic passes into the path of Sead Haksabanovic.
Whilst Haksabanovic has been praised for his role in the Celtic attack during the first half on Saturday, and rightfully so, Jenz also deserves the praise for finding the openings to the Hoops wideman.
The German defender showed his intelligence by driving forward before producing several splitting passes through the Hibs midfield and into a dangerous area for the versatile winger to take on his marker.
I fully recommend supporters check out the highlights of the Bhoys’ impressive 6-1 victory over Hibernian for a full look at the defender’s contribution to the Hoops’ defence-splitting attacks in the opening half of the game.
Jenz showcased vs Hibernian exactly what is needed from Ange Postecoglou’s centre-backs.
It may only seem like the smallest of things in the build-up to the goal. However, Jenz’s play for all three of our opening strikes is exactly what Ange Postecoglou is looking for from his centre-back.
The 57-year-old doesn’t just want his defensive pairing playing between themselves and the goalkeeper. He wants to see Jenz and Carter-Vickers be positive in possession, and find their teammates in dangerous areas.
And that is precisely what the German-born defender produced against Hibs, arguably playing an essential role in the lead-up to the goals which handed the Bhoys a healthy lead going into the break.
Hopefully, we continue to see more of the same from the defender in the important games to come, and I am sure he will also be hoping to continue building up his momentum as part of the Celtic back four.
In other news, Liel Abada praises ‘amazing’ Celtic star for taking him under his wing.
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