It was one-way traffic at Celtic Park as Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic comfortably dispatched of Dundee with a very encouraging performance. It has been a while since fans have been able to watch a Celtic game with a smile on their face and to be looking forward to the next match in excitement. Kyogo Furuhashi announced himself to the Celtic faithful in the best way possible with a hat-trick, and he was one of the many standout players. Here are some talking points to take from Sunday’s fixture.
The perfect first impression
Kyogo Furuhashi was the man of the moment at Celtic Park as he blew away a Dundee side which just didn’t have the answer to the Japanese star. It’s important to temper our expectations but it’s been a top start from the striker. There’s something about Kyogo which is just incredibly exciting.
Watching interviews with Japanese journalists following his signing, the main qualities to the 26-year old’s game were his speed, movement in the box and his ability to read the game and get in behind the opposition defence. We saw him utilise all of those key skills. One thing that is also noteworthy was his constant pressing as he never let the Dundee back line have an ounce of time on the ball, tracking back well and even dishing out a few slide tackles which were incredibly accurate for a striker. He found space in tight areas and was constantly breaking off the shoulder of the defenders, something we saw for the first two goals. He is going to be a major problem for SPFL defenders and don’t be surprised to see the forward at the top of the goal-scoring charts come the end of the season.
Follow the leader
Callum McGregor took up a bit of a different role from previous games as he sat deepest in Celtic’s midfield 3. He was dropping deep and collecting the ball, and really dictating the play and orchestrating everything. He was quality on the ball as we’ve come to expect, and everything ran through him once again. The captain also helped alleviate some of the pressure off of Celtic’s backline, as there was a notable hint of composure to the Celtic back 4 which we haven’t seen at all this season. The 28-year-old was brilliant at building play from deep and was always looking to progress the ball forward, a stark change from last season’s system which really hindered his abilities. It would be nice to see Callum McGregor play this role against some of the lower sides in the league more often, as Soro and McGregor both playing isn’t really needed in games like these. One thing that was also great to see was how well he has adapted to the captain role. Since being handed the armband he has taken to such a prestigious position like a duck to water, and it was great to see him gather the players for a mini huddle after the game which was greeted by a roar from the Celtic fans. A real sense of togetherness is needed this season, and the fans and players need to be on board with the Postecoglou project, and Callum McGregor seems like the perfect fit for such a key role in the rebuild.
Get the cheque book out to retain Christie
Ryan Christie supplied his best display yet in a Celtic shirt thus season, and he wasn’t even in his traditional position. Some may say he’s just playing for a move, but in reality he is just flourishing in a system that is tailor made to suit his strengths which was shown as he provided 3 assists and created a whopping 11 chances. He was clinical with his passing in the final third, and had a great understanding of Kyogo’s movements as he laid chance after chance on a plate for the new man. He showed great determination and commitment to the cause, especially for the third as he charged down Christie Elliot and nicked the ball off him, also allowing space and time for players to break in the middle of the park, and he created the goal as he picked out Tom Rogic in the box. The 26-year-old was always looking to go forward, and Celtic really should be throwing everything at him to get him to sign a new deal. Signing Christie down for another few years could be the most important piece of business Celtic do this summer, as he is as good as any new signing in a system like this. It really is a pain that the player most suited to Postecoglou’s system sees their contract expire in January.
Celtic have a nice run of games coming up, with home games against St Mirren, Jablonec and Hearts in the Premier Sports cup. If we see our way past Jablonec, and we end up playing the home tie against AZ first, then we could have 5 home games (including the Dundee game) in a row heading into a mammoth game at Ibrox. Building confidence and momentum in some winnable games and hopefully scoring quite a few goals along the way will do the world of good heading into such an important game.
