Celtic were already in seventh heaven ahead of their ultimate Premiership outing against second-placed Aberdeen at Celtic Park. They are on the verge of grabbing successive domestic trebles under Brendan Rodgers as the next weekend outing versus Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final will decide the historic achievement. The Sunday afternoon outing, however, was significant for the visitors in order to clinch the runners-up place ahead of Rangers for successive campaigns but the task was monumental considering the game being played at Celtic’s fortress. But they put up a great show defying the odds and defended their second-half goal to script an incredible 1-0 win on the road against the Champions which ended a run of 25 successive league defeats against Celtic
Below are the Celtic players rated in their defeat against Aberdeen.
Scott Bain: 6
Was not tested much but could have done little to deny Andrew Considine who found the back of the net from close range minutes into the second half. The goal eventually proved to be the decider in a tight encounter.
Mikael Lustig: 6.5
Mostly spent his time high up the pitch with his crosses and link-up play with Forrest and Dembele down the right-hand flank. Did not track back on multiple occasions which allowed the visitors to stage multiple counter-attacks.
Dedryck Boyata: 6
Was decent defensively as the visitors could not create enough menace in Celtic’s defensive half. However, the cross from Kenny McLean should have been dealt properly which allowed Considine to score minutes after the break.
Kristoffer Ajer:6.5
The Norwegian starlet delivered yet another towering performance at the back and also ran forward at times to constitute attacks from the deep.
Kieran Tierney: 6
Was energetic in the first-half with overlap runs, crosses and link-up play alongside Callum McGregor. But he too left the space behind which often caused trouble defensively. He was replaced by Scott Sinclair minutes after conceding.
Scott Brown: 7
The skipper tried his best to stage a comeback as he not only controlled the midfield game but also made moves high up the pitch and tried his luck from distance.
Olivier Ntcham: 6
The Frenchman had a few box-to-box movements, combined well with fellow attackers to open up a stubborn Dons defence but failed to beat custodian Joe Lewis who was in majestic form all afternoon. Was replaced by Stuart Armstrong midway through the second-half.
James Forrest: 6
Whipped in a few crosses but his cut ins and layoffs were not good enough to break down the Dons defence. His moves were too predictable and were easily read by the opponents.
Tom Rogic: 6.5
The Australian saw his efforts being denied by Lewis in Aberdeen goal and the likes of Mark Reynolds and Shay Logan kept on blocking and intercepting his attempts in and around the box.
Callum McGregor: 6.5
Started the game on the left wing and his movements and crosses were causing problems inside the Aberdeen half. Was later moved to a slightly deeper role following Scott Sinclair’s introduction early in the second half.
Moussa Dembele: 5
Had a disappointing afternoon, saw his only considerable effort on the target being denied by Lewis and was eventually taken off to be replaced by Leigh Griffiths early in the second half.
Substitutes
Scott Sinclair: 5.5
Dribbled past the defence at times but lacked composure and failed to alter the fate of the game.
Leigh Griffiths: 6.5
Had a positive impact on the game with his movements inside the box. But the Scotsman, too, failed to beat the Dons defensive line despite several attempts.
Stuart Armstrong: 6
Added more attacking flair in the second half but failed to draw an equalizer in spite of his best efforts.
