Celtic moved to three points clear of the Scottish Premiership table on Saturday after they secured an emphatic 4-1 victory over Hearts away from Parkhead.
The Hoops took advantage of Aberdeen’s 2-1 defeat to St Mirren to go clear at the top after being level on points with the Dons for the entire season so far, but sitting above them on goal difference.
Brendan Rodgers’ side now have a gap between them and second and will be hoping to extend that in the coming weeks to provide them with a healthy cushion to potentially rotate the squad and rest players for other competitions.
The Scottish giants struggled at times in the first half against Hearts, however, as the home side pushed to score the opening goal and tested Kasper Schmeichel with a few early efforts.
Celtic’s Danish colossus was equal to everything, though, and that allowed the Hoops to push on in the second half and secure all three points, thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn, and Adam Idah (x2).
It was a very impressive second half display and one that included a number of superb performances across the park from several players.
Celtic's top performers against Hearts
The man who opened the scoring, Kyogo, was a constant threat at the top end of the pitch with his movement in behind to create chances for himself.
He scored the first goal, rifling in after the ball dropped kindly to him, and had four shots on target in total, also missing two ‘big chances’, which shows that he was constantly testing Craig Gordon.
Cameron Carter-Vickers returned to the team at centre-back and produced a dominant display for the Hoops, as he won seven of his eight duels and made six clearances.
Kuhn, of course, was another player who excelled. As well as his thumping strike into the top corner, the German winger created one ‘big chance’ and completed all three of his attempted dribbles on the right flank, in another terrific showing in the Premiership.
Interceptions
Auston Trusty (4)
Duels won
Cameron Carter-Vickers (7)
Pass accuracy
Kasper Schmeichel (100%)
Goals
Adam Idah (2)
Big chances created
Callum McGregor (2)
Dribbles completed
Nicolas Kuhn (3)
As you can see in the table above, several other players also starred in various statistics, with Callum McGregor’s creativity and Auston Trusty’s defensive intelligence on show.
However, there were also some players for Celtic who struggled at times and did not showcase the best of their abilities in the win over Hearts on Saturday.
One Hoops whiz who did not give the best account of himself was central midfielder Reo Hatate, who started alongside the captain and Arne Engels.
Reo Hatate's performance against Hearts
The Japan international played the full 90 minutes of the 4-1 win and was unable to get in on the act with a goal or an assist to show for his efforts in the match.
He was involved, in part, in the third goal from Idah. It was his failed attempt to dribbled past a defender that, fortunately, allowed Paulo Bernardo to slip the Ireland international through on goal on the edge of the box.
The 27-year-old did, however, create one ‘big chance’ in that match and was not rewarded with an assist, which suggests that he was unfortunate not to record a goal involvement.
His work out of possession left a lot to be desired, though, as the central midfielder lost five of his six ground duels and both of his aerial contests, which shows that the Hearts players found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical battles.
Appearances
12
Goals
3
Big chances created
5
Assists
0
Duel success rate
48%
As you can see in the table above, creating high-quality opportunities for his teammates and not being rewarded with assists has become a theme for the midfielder, who has lost the majority of his duels in the division.
Hatate, despite being dominated by the Hearts players in his individual battles, was not the worst performer on the pitch for the Hoops, though, as Arne Engles was even worse in the middle of the park.
Why Rodgers must drop Arne Engels
The summer signing from Augsburg, who played twice for Belgium during the international break, has struggled for form in recent matches for the Hoops.
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Rodgers must, now, finally bin the Belgian youngster from the starting XI to take him away from the spotlight and allow him to rest and come back with the motivation to win his place in the team back.
The 21-year-old lightweight started the 2-0 win over Kilmarnock before the break and struggled in that game, with one duel won and zero chances created in 63 minutes on the pitch.
Engels needed to bounce back with an improved display against Hearts from the start and was unable to do so, as the former Bundesliga starlet failed to impress for the second match running.
Meanwhile, Paulo Bernardo came off the bench and won 100% (2/2) of his duels, created a ‘big chance’, and provided an assist against the Jam Tarts.
Minutes played
67
Pass accuracy
79%
Key passes
0
Duels won
1/7
Tackles + interceptions
0
Possession lost
12x
As you can see in the table above, Engels offered very little to the team in and out of possession throughout the game, with zero chances created and zero tackles and interceptions.
He was also a lightweight in midfield, losing 86% of his duels, and these statistics show that it is time for Rodgers to drop him down to the bench for the clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday night, as he was easily beaten by defenders in battles and did little to help the team in the final third.
Hatate was, at least, able to create a ‘big chance’ for the team and was partially involved in Idah’s goal, and that is why Engels should be dropped ahead of the Japanese gem, with Bernardo given a chance to impress from the start after his strong cameo.
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