Celtic entertained Hearts at Celtic Park earlier tonight hoping to pick up maximum points in front of their home supporters. The Parkhead outfit managed to grab the lead at the half-hour mark when Olivier Ntcham scored from close range. The visitors struggled to come up with a response and went into the half-time break a goal down.
Neil Lennon’s men made a brilliant start after the half-time break and doubled their lead courtesy of Christopher Julien’s header. Callum McGregor also found the back of the net just six minutes later after being played through by Greg Taylor. Ryan Christie came off the bench to add another goal in the 67th minute before Jozo Simunovic completed the rout by scoring with a close-range header.
Celtic didn’t let the opposition settle into the game and cruised to a comfortable 5-0 victory on the night.
Let’s take a look at how each Celtic player performed during the match against Hearts.
GK: Fraser Forster – 6/10
The English keeper was a bit sloppy with his ball-distribution in the first half. He was hardly tested during the game and kept an easy clean sheet at the back.
CB: Kristoffer Ajer – 7/10
The Norwegian centre-back seems to be hitting top form just at the right time. He put in another matured display on the left side of Lennon’s back three and didn’t give the opposition a sniff at goal.
CB: Jozo Simunovic – 6/10
It was not the most convincing performance from him at the heart of the Celtic performance, but he did enough to secure a clean sheet. Simunovic celebrated the win with a powerfully headed goal in the second half.
CB: Christopher Jullien – 7.5/10
The French defender put in a decent display in defence and managed to score another vital goal for his side. He is having a good year in terms of goal-scoring after bagging three in his past eight matches.
RM: James Forrest – 6/10
He was a decent outlet down the right flank. Lady luck didn’t favour him as he went close to scoring a worldie in the second 45.
CM: Scott Brown – 5/10
The Celtic skipper struggled to perform at a high level as he was careless in possession of the ball. He almost found the back of the net but ended up narrowly missing the target in the second half.
CM: Callum McGregor – 7/10
He was bright and energetic in the opposition half and scored the decisive third goal which killed the game off. McGregor drew a lot of fouls from the Hearts players but was guilty of squandering a few goal-scoring opportunities as well.
LM: Greg Taylor – 8/10
The Scottish midfielder began the contest a bit slow but looked comfortable out on the wide areas. He worked hard and showed a lot of hunger on the pitch.
CAM: Olivier Ntcham – 7.5/10
The French talent passed the ball accurately and drove his team forward in search of more goals. He is playing at a high level and seems undroppable at the moment.
ST: Leigh Griffiths – 7/10
The experienced striker was excellent alongside Edouard but was unfortunate not to have opened his goal-scoring account tonight. However, it was another positive display from him which will please his manager.
ST: Odsonne Edouard – 7/10
It’s rare for Edouard not to join in on the party when Celtic go on to seal such an emphatic win at Parkhead. He was denied twice by the Hearts keeper Joel Pereira in what was overall a frustrating outing for the striker.
Substitutes:
ST: Ryan Christie – 7/10
He scored within three minutes after coming off the bench. Lennon can’t ask for any more than that.
RM: Mohamed Elyounoussi – 5/10
The Norwegian international made minimal impact on the field.
LM: Tom Rogic – 5/10
The Australian playmaker struggled to get into the game after coming on for the final 12 minutes.
