Celtic came away from Paisley on Sunday afternoon with a vital Scottish Cup win. Goals from Japanese striking duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda saw the Hoops sail through to the quarter-finals.
It was a comfortable victory for The Bhoys, but Brendan Rodgers’ team selection for it raised a few questions. Indeed, the gaffer drafted Luis Palma and Kyogo into the lineup following their exclusion from Wednesday night’s team.
The decision from the boss to bring them back in proved dividends, with the pair combining for today’s opener. Naturally, this was raised to Rodgers post-match, the manager specifically being asked if he was happy with how Palma and Kyogo reacted to being left out midweek.
The double-treble-winning boss, though, promptly shut this narrative down: “They weren’t left out”, he said (The Celtic Way).
“They play a lot of games. We have played three tough away games in one week. They weren’t left out.”
It seems as though the duo being dropped midweek was a simple case of squad rotation. In fairness, the Hoops have had three arduous away games in the space of seven days.
On the other side, they have come out an improved team, The Bhoys getting stronger in terms of performances and results over the week. They will look to get even better when Kilmarnock come to Parkhead next Saturday.
