Celtic are favourites to clinch their seventh Scottish Premiership title without much difficulty, but they are not looking the same ruthless and relentless side of last season that maintained a sheer dominance in domestic competitions. They are still likely to complete a ‘domestic treble’ but have lost their ‘invincibles’ status and are being forced to grind out results in recent weeks.
They were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 against Zenit St. Petersburg this midweek but vowed to come back to winning terms at Pittodrie Stadium against Aberdeen, the runners-up of last season who have slipped down to the third spot following Rangers’ latest upsurge. The game was expected to be an intriguing one and the Hoops delivered a standout display who kept hold of their lead despite being down to ten men and then scored again to seal it 2-0 against the odds.
Below are the Celtic FC players rated in their commanding win against Aberdeen.
Dorus De Vries: 8
His costly error took the game beyond Celtic’s reach against Zenit St Petersburg in Russia, but the custodian once again started between the sticks due to Craig Gordon’s injury. The 37-year-old, however, came to Celtic’s rescue in the second half to deny Kenny McLean’s strike and managed to keep hold of a clean-sheet by denying McLean once again in closing seconds.
Mikael Lustig: 6
Maintained defensive composure and did well to stride forward and link up well with James Forrest down the right-hand flank. But all his good work was marred by a second booking following a poor tackle on Gary Mackay-Steven that saw him receiving a marching order with 15 minutes remaining.
Kristoffer Ajer: 8
The teenager is doing extremely well in Dedryck Boayata’s injury absence as he has now taken a central role in Celtic defence and performing persistently to flourish as their next-gen star.
Jozo Simunovic: 7
Was rusty while tackling and had a moment of the scare in early minutes when Kari Arnason of Aberdeen was left unmarked inside the box but failed to reach McLean’s cross from three yards out. Improved lately and took charge of the backline with his experience and composure.
Kieran Tierney: 8.5
Kept on making overlap runs and combining with Sinclair upfront. Made things difficult for the Dons defence as his one-twos were often causing trouble inside the opponents’ box. His hard work paid off when he scored the all-important goal late in the game despite being down to ten men and sealed all three points for the Bhoys under immense pressure.
Scott Brown: 8
His combativeness allowed the Bhoys to control the midfield and the skipper took added responsibility after Lustig’s sending off and screened his defence to keep hold of the narrow lead.
Olivier Ntcham: 7.5
The youngster was excellent in his box-to-box runs and was unlucky not to score as his venomous strike rattled the woodwork. Was mostly confined to play deep to resist the Dons’ pressing for an equalizer, particularly after Lustig’s sending off.
James Forrest: 8
Forrest was excellent down the right-hand flank and his wonderful floated cross was converted by Dembele to earn the Hoops a first-half lead. Was taken after Lustig’s marching order and replaced by new signing Jack Hendry to increase defensive depth.
Tom Rogic: 7
Rogic forced Freddie Woodman to make saves and his movements, as well as link-up, were causing trouble for the Dons to deal with. Looked quiet after the break and was replaced by McGregor who offered more depth in the middle of the park.
Scott Sinclair: 7
Struck the woodwork from a corner early in the game. His dribbling runs and link-up play were causing all sorts of problems in Aberdeen box. Was taken off in closing minutes to be replaced by Edouard.
Moussa Dembele: 8
The Frenchman headed home from Forrest’s cross to break the deadlock late in the first-half. Was mostly isolated in the second half due to Aberdeen’s pressing high up the pitch for an equalizer that forced the visitors to defend deep and offer little in attack.
Substitutes
Callum McGregor: 7
Offered fresh legs in the middle of the park and helped to make things stable for the visitors.
Jack Hendry: 7
The winter signing was thrown into the pitch in a difficult situation but he stood tall, performed his defensive duties and did well to see off a victory.
Odsonne Edouard: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
