It was supposed to be an easy ride for Celtic at Hampden Park where they locked horns with Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup semifinal. The defending champions had a perfect start when Daizen Maeda found the net early into the game, but the East Ayrshire side fought till the very end before conceding again in the closing seconds. The Hoops have now grabbed back-to-back 2-0 wins against Derek McInnes’ men.
Below are the Celtic players rated in their win against Kilmarnock.
Joe Hart: 7.5
Made a couple of crucial saves to deny Rory McKenzie and Christian Doidge. Ange Postecoglou deployed him in this Cup tie ahead of Benjamin Siegrist and the veteran Englishman registered a clean sheet to secure Celtic a place in another final.
Josip Juranovic: 7
Looked lively down the right with his timely overlapping runs and link-up play. Defended when required but was mostly involved in the attacking build-ups.
Cameron Carter-Vickers: 7.5
Commanded the game from the heart of the backline. Won the duels, made timely recoveries and played it out from the back to script transitions from the deep.
Carl Starfelt: 7
Was in the right place at the right time while partnering Carter-Vickers in deep defence. Maintained his calmness and composure on most occasions.
Alexandro Bernabei: 7
Another decent performance from the Argentine who is still attuning to the aggression of the Scottish game. Tried to balance his game between defence and attack.
Callum McGregor: 7.5
Did his job expertly as a ‘number 6’. The deep-lying role saw him screening the defence and making down-the-middle runs to cause menace in the Killie box.
Aaron Mooy: 7.5
Enjoying a great run of form with his box-to-box movements and creative spark. Also tested Sam Walker late in the game with a powerful strike. Made way for David Turnbull in injury time.
Reo Hatate: 7
Saw a goal being disallowed following a VAR check. The Japanese midfield ace was relentless with his runs as he kept on causing menace in the opponents’ half before making way for Matt O’Riley for the final quarter of the match.
Daizen Maeda: 7.5
Credit to Kille centre-forward Kyle Lafferty, who set it up hilariously for Maeda in the early minutes of the contest. Had another goal ruled out for offside, but he was a constant threat down the wide. Made way for James Forrest late in the fixture.
Filipe Jota: 6.5
Showed some sparks from the flanks, but he should have offered more in terms of attacking threats. Was replaced by Liel Abada around the 73rd-minute mark.
Kyogo Furuhashi: 6
Far from his best while spearheading the attack. Created little and remained isolated for the majority of the game. Was taken off for Giakoumakis who doubled the lead before the final whistle.
Celtic Subs vs Kilmarnock
Liel Abada: 6.5
Should have been more accurate in front of the goal.
Giorgos Giakoumakis: 7.5
Converted from a close range to make it 2-0 and sealed the Hoops a place in the League Cup final.
Matt O’Riley: 7
Did well since replacing Hatate in a ‘number 6’ role.
James Forrest: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating. Played his part in the build-up of the second goal.
David Turnbull: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating. Played his part in the build-up of the second goal.
