Celtic played out their first home match of 2023 as they hosted Kilmarnock on a bitter cold Saturday afternoon.
The Hoops maintained their nine point lead at the top of the table last time out with a hard-fought derby draw and today, were able to extend that to a 12 point lead, for the night at least, with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.
Goals either side of half time from Jota and Kyogo was enough for the hosts to taste victory in a dominative performance.
Here’s how the players rated.
Joe Hart – 6/10
The Englishman had little to do between the sticks this afternoon. Kilmarnock had just two shots on goal throughout the match with none on target, putting testament to this. Due to this, the 35 year old was able to keep his ninth clean sheet of this season.
Alistair Johnston – 7/10
Making his Celtic Park debut, Alistair Johnston impressed. The Canadian was strong in the tackle and fairly accurate in his passing. Johnston got forward amply but was relatively untested in defence. Nevertheless, it was a more than passable display from the right back who appears to be a more than sufficient signing for Celtic thus far.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 8/10
Cameron Carter-Vickers was utterly solid at the heart of the Celtic defence this afternoon. The American kept Killie striker Kyle Vassell firmly within his back pocket and showed several moments of optimum intelligence when defending. It is fair to say the 25 year old is one of the most pivotal players in the Celtic team right now.
Carl Starfelt – 7/10
Along with Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt was well founded in the Hoops’ backline. The Swede was ever-accurate in his passing and cleared several opposition balls into the Celtic box. His partnership with Carter-Vickers continues to prosper week by week with the pair’s coherent understanding at the back clear to see for all.
Alexandro Bernabei – 5/10
Coming in for the injured Greg Taylor at left back, Alexandro Bernabei was poor today. Granted, he did play a key pass in behind the Kilmarnock back line for Celtic’s opener however the Argentine appeared too eager at times and when driving out from defence, seemed to give the ball away a fair bit. Moreover, particularly in the first half, Bernabei’s crossing was inaccurate although it should be remembered the 22 year old is the age he is and continuing to adapt to a new country, lifestyle and language.
Callum McGregor – 7/10
Once more, Callum McGregor was consistent in the Celtic midfield. The Hoops captain never gave the ball away and always looked to keep play ticking over in the engine room. Going forward, McGregor will be aiming to take Celtic into just their second final with him as skipper next Saturday against today’s opposition.
Reo Hatate – 8/10
Reo Hatate was awarded Celtic’s in-stadium man of the match awarded and it is hard to argue with that. The Japanese played sublimely in midfield and used his body wisely when his back was facing goal or when in his own half. Furthermore, it was he who slid in Kyogo for the champions’ second goal this afternoon to register his eighth goal contribution in the league this season.
Aaron Mooy – 6/10
The Aussie midfielder came back into the Celtic starting eleven this afternoon and was adequate. As we’ve came to expect with Mooy, he rarely conceded possession and put a fair few dangerous crosses into the Kilmarnock box. The 32 year old was replaced just after the hour by Matt O’Riley.
Jota – 8/10
Starting on the right wing, Jota was rather vivacious. The Portuguese constantly looked to take on his man and make things happen. Just before half time, the 23 year old scored his first goal since November at the Bernabeu and it was from an opportunity he couldn’t really miss – Maeda fired across goal and Jota tapped in after Sam Walker dived early. The former Benfica man now has 12 goal contributions in 20 league matches this campaign and you feel he really needed his strike this afternoon to kick on in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
Daizen Maeda – 7/10
It was another effective performance from Daizen Maeda today. The 25 year old set up Jota for his side’s opener this afternoon with a dangerous low ball across goal and was rather unfortunate not to get his own name on the scoresheet. Currently, Maeda is going through arguably his best run of form this season so far and it is hard to see how he could be dropped for next week’s semi final.
Kyogo – 7/10
The Japanese was rather starved of service at times but it didn’t take much for Kyogo to score. His fellow countryman Hatate got in behind on the right and slid him in. Kyogo took the shot on first time and netted via a deflection from Ash Taylor. Although he had just ten touches of the ball, Kyogo still significantly contributed and remains the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer.
Substitutes
Matt O’Riley, Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis replaced Aaron Mooy, Jota and Kyogo just after the hour. O’Riley was eye catching and clever in his play in midfield. He put himself about and forced a decent Sam Walker save in stoppage time as Celtic piled on the pressure for a third. Abada remained lively out wide and cutting inside meanwhile Giakoumakis easily could’ve had a brace, hitting the bar from long range and having a powerful header saved from inside the box after a corner.
The other two changes that were made by Ange Postecoglou today saw David Turnbull and James Forrest come on for both Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda with seven to go. Turnbull kept it simple in midfield whereas Forrest easily could’ve and admittedly should’ve had one or two goals, rattling the post from close range and forcing Walker into another splendid save.
Celtic are now 12 points clear at the top of the table for the evening. Rangers head to Tannadice on Sunday with all the pressure on them although the Hoops will undoubtedly continue to focus on themselves and their performances.
And next Saturday, the Hoops will look to repeat today’s feat as they will once more face Kilmarnock, this time in the league cup semi final. Hampden is the venue with a rather unorthodox, at least in Scotland, yet not unwelcome kick off time of 5.30pm pencilled in.
