Celtic earned a hard-fought victory over Motherwell on Saturday afternoon as Reo Hatate’s strike made sure of the points after a Josip Juranovic own goal cancelled out Kyogo’s opener on 16 minutes.
Callum McGregor was sent off late on although the Celts professionally held on to see out the win in the closing stages.
Here’s how each of the Bhoys rated.
Joe Hart – 7/10
A lack of communication between Joe Hart and Josip Juranovic led to Motherwell’s first half equaliser however the English ‘keeper was reliable other than this. He held on to a few long range efforts from the visitors and commanded his area well, coming to collect numerous crosses in the second half.
Josip Juranovic – 6/10
It wasn’t the best afternoon for Josip Juranovic as he netted an own goal and misplaced some passes however in the second half, the Croatian was composed on a number of occasions inside his own box to help stem any Motherwell attacking threats. Juranovic was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet when his free kick rattled the woodwork in the first half.
Stephen Welsh – 4/10
In the past two games, Stephen Welsh has been below par. Today, the 22 year old appeared to be hesitant on the ball with the physicality of Kevin van Veen causing him problems. Ahead of the trip to Leipzig on Wednesday, Celtic fans will be hoping Cameron Carter-Vickers will be back to take Welsh’s place. The certainty the American brings is hugely noticeable when he doesn’t play.
Moritz Jenz – 6/10
Moritz Jenz started for the fourth game running at centre back for Celtic today. The German done his job defensively and although he stepped out of the backline well, a select few of his passes were substandard.
Greg Taylor – 7/10
A consistent performer week in, week out for Celtic, Greg Taylor was solid again today. He was never afraid to get on the ball and linked well with Jota and Reo Hatate on the left hand side. Taylor also stood firm in his defending.
Callum McGregor – 7/10
The Celtic captain was here, there and everywhere in the engine room this afternoon and as ever, kept play ticking over. At least on first glance, his sending off on 89 minutes seemed to be undue as Stephen Welsh was on the cover.
Reo Hatate – 8/10
Reo Hatate scored his first competitive Celtic goal since April with a thunderous strike from outside the box which was destined for the far corner. As well as scoring the match winner, Hatate was also ever-lively in and around the opposition box, constantly looking for a pass to open up the Motherwell defence.
Matt O’Riley – 6/10
The Dane was fairly quiet in midfield today. O’Riley didn’t have many moments of magic however if it wasn’t for the aerial prowess he disclosed to meet Jota’s cross, Kyogo wouldn’t have been able to tap in from close range.
Daizen Maeda – 6/10
Daizen Maeda was lively on the right hand side in today’s match, cleverly using his pace and body to get the better of his opposite number, particularly in the first half. In the second, the Japanese slightly fell off and was replaced by Liel Abada 65 minutes in.
Kyogo – 7/10
The 27 year old bagged his seventh league goal of the campaign today and it was an opportunity Kyogo couldn’t really miss as he rattled in from minimal range. The Japanese had a few chances along with this in the second 45, heading wide from inside the goal area and just missing out on dragging it past Liam Kelly to the backdrop of an empty net.
Jota – 8/10
The Portuguese showed vivacity on the left wing and created a wealth of opportunities for his teammates and could’ve easily scored himself three minutes in when Maeda cut it back for him. Jota hung it up well for O’Riley for the opener and it was the 23 year old who took a quick corner to assist Reo Hatate in the second half. The 23 year old played until stoppage time when he was subbed off for Aaron Mooy after a productive afternoon.
Celtic Substitutes
David Turnbull came on with 25 to play and was poor. The midfielder was inadequate in his passing and looked generally slow in his play.
Introduced at the same time as Turnbull was Liel Abada. The Israeli caught the eye after coming on, getting in behind the visitors’ defence on quite a few occasions and missing what was frankly a sitter in stoppage time.
Sead Haksabanovic came on with ten to play but didn’t get a sufficient chance to affect the game. This was similar to Aaron Mooy and debutant Oliver Abildgaard who came on very late on.
Today’s Celtic performance was sub-par although the Hoops got what was needed in the end – a crucial three points.
Ange Postecoglou’s team are now back top of the league ahead of a trip to Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday night which undoubtedly, the Celts will need to tighten up at the back for.
Well Josh , you seem to have omitted the silly back pass that Hatate played which lead to the red card , Unfortunate mistake from him although he probably was our Best player on the day .