Celtic are closing in on an eighth successive Premiership title and a historic ‘treble treble’ despite Brendan Rodgers’ stepping down as the Parkhead chief. Neil Lennon succeeded his fellow countryman in an interim role, but a trip to Edinburgh was tricky for him against his former side Hibernian FC.
Hibs, under Paul Heckingbottom, have scripted a resurgence of late and maintained the momentum this afternoon with a dominant display. The fixture at Easter Road resulted in a scoreless draw, and the Hoops need to wait a bit longer now to celebrate their title triumph.
Below are the Celtic players rated in their scoreless draw against Hibernian Fc.
Scott Bain: 7.5
Made some crucial saves to deny the hosts and earned a clean sheet displaying his majestic form between the sticks.
Mikael Lustig: 7
Was lively down the right flank with overlapping runs, link-up play and ambitious crosses. Created a few chances high up the pitch, and could have done better defensively when Hibs were initiating the counter attacks.
Jozo Simunovic: 7
Had some nervy occasions against Marc McNulty and Florian Kamberi, but the centre-back settled in well and delivered a resilient display to contain the opponents.
Kristoffer Ajer: 7.5
Was calm and composed with the ball, and showed his aerial supremacy. Also played the ball out from the back to build up moves upfront.
Emilio Izaguirre: 5.5
Started in place of the injured Kieran Tierney. The veteran fullback offered little high up the pitch and mostly confined his game defensively dealing with the hosts’ attacking threats down the left flank.
Scott Brown: 6
The skipper, as always, featured in a destructive role and did not allow Hibernian to have control over the midfield game. Made some down the middle runs but often lacked innovation in the advanced areas.
Olivier Ntcham: 5.5
Started the game brightly with link-up play, box-to-box runs but faded off with time and was eventually taken off to be replaced by Tom Rogic around the hour mark.
James Forrest: 6
The in-form Celtic winger had a quiet afternoon as he rarely threatened from the right flank. Made some ambitious runs but failed to trouble the hosts before being replaced by Timo Weah in the closing minutes of the game.
Callum McGregor: 6
The Scotsman offered little in a slightly advanced role despite playing some quick one-twos and through balls for the attackers. Worked hard in the middle of the park but lacked enough creativity while making the final pass.
Jonny Hayes: 6.5
Was impressive with his high pressing, and work ethics. Also whipped in a few crosses from the left flank. Created a few opportunities but should work on his shooting accuracy from a distance. Was replaced by Scott Sinclair in the second half.
Odsonne Edouard: 6
Forced Ofir Marciano to make saves but missed out several half-chances which could have made a difference in the scoreline. The Frenchman looked isolated at times and failed to create clear-cut chances by his own.
Substitutes
Tom Rogic: 6.5
The Aussie wizard made an impact with his swift movements and creative spark but could not break the deadlock despite coming close.
Scott Sinclair: 5.5
Made some runs down the left but did not make any noteworthy contribution to alter the outcome.
Timo Weah: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
