Celtic maintained their four-point lead over closest challengers Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership table with a 2-0 win against Motherwell on Saturday. Brendan Rodgers’ side remain unbeaten in the League after eight games, winning seven and drawing one so far and boast a formidable lead at the top with a game in hand. Aberdeen, Hearts and Rangers are clearly some distance away from the Hoops in the race for the title and it looks like the Bhoys will have another walk in the park for their sixth straight title.
Summer signings Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele found the back of the net for the hosts against Mark McGhee’s side. Sinclair scored the opener pretty early in the 18th minute. Celtic had to wait until the 87th minute to double their lead as Dembele defeated Craig Samson from the spot. Here are three things we learned from the game.
Tierney is a rare, rare talent
How often do you see a left-back getting a standing ovation from the fans before the half-time whistle? Kieran Tierney is such a gifted player that the crowd rose to salute his talent even though his exceptional run did not end at the back of the net. It was the dying minutes of the second half as the 19-year-old dazzled his way three Motherwell defenders inside the box but only to be denied by the crossbar. Celtic have a potential world-beater in their club and Kiernan Tierney proves it week in week out.
Motherwell deserve plaudits for making a game out of it
It is a common sight in football that sides often surrender to the pressure after conceding an early goal but Motherwell did not do the same. Mark McGhee’s side held firm to their game plan and frustrated Celtic in the middle of the park allowing them possession of the ball in the wide areas. However, they could not stop Celtic eventually from doubling the lead but the scoreline could have been much worse for them considering how early Celtic took the lead.
Bitton was missed
Celtic were missing combative midfielder Nir Bitton in the middle of the park and it was easily visible that the Israel international was being missed sorely. Liam Henderson did a good job in the middle of the park but there is still a long way to go for the youngster.
Celtic are short of quality in the middle of the park and Rodgers needs to address this area as soon as he can and probably he could bring a central midfielder as early in January.
