Despite being down to ten men, Celtic scored three past Livingston on the road and maintained their supremacy at the top of the Premiership standings. They had another tricky away test this afternoon against Motherwell and the late drama at Fir Park ended 2-1 in favour of the Hoops, thanks to a 97th-minute winner from Matt O’Riley.
Below are the Celtic players rated in their 2-1 win against Motherwell.
Scott Bain: 7.5
Made an array of crucial saves. Could have done little to stop Blair Spittal’s injury-time equalizer. Had a sigh of relief when O’Riley restored the lead moments later.
Alistair Johnston: 7
Balanced his game between attack and defence. Was combative during the duels, also made some marauding runs and whipped in crosses from the right-hand flank.
Gustaf Lagerbielke: 7
Was clumsy with his tackles. But he mostly dominated the defensive duels before making way for Nat Phillips around the hour mark.
Liam Scales: 7.5
Another resilient performance from the Irishman who is making his opportunities count in the heart of the backline. Showed his aerial supremacy as well as tackling mastery all throughout the contest.
Greg Taylor: 8
Looked sharp down the left as the Scottish left fullback set it up for O’Riley who converted the cross with sheer expertise and secured all three points this afternoon.
Callum McGregor: 8
The skipper dominated the midfield game with his vision and distribution. Also laid it on for Luis Palma who broke the deadlock in the closing minutes of the match.
Matt O’Riley: 8.5
The Dane was impressive all game with his work-rate, down-the-middle runs and the attacking build-ups as a ‘number 8’. His late strike earned the Celts three massive points from this difficult away outing.
Reo Hatate: 7
Did well to regain possession in the centre of the pitch. His swift runs and link-up play often opened up space in and around the attacking third. But the Japanese midfield ace should have been more direct while playing it into the final third. Made way for David Turnbull late in the fixture.
Hyun-Jun Yang: 5.5
Hardly had an impact down the right-hand flank and was taken off at half-time in favour of veteran James Forrest.
Daizen Maeda: 6.5
Had a mixed occasion while featuring from the left. Worked hard to form attacking threats but his end product let him down big time before making way for Luis Palma.
Kyogo Furuhashi: 6
A quiet afternoon for the Celtic hitman who not only remained isolated but also failed to keep his efforts on target. Was taken off for Oh Hyeon-gyu late in the contest.
Celtic Subs vs Motherwell
James Forrest: 7
Was far more effective than Yang as he tested Liam Kelly twice in the Motherwell goal.
Nat Phillips: 7
Slowly attuned to the physicality of the game. The minutes he had should help him settle in before the Lazio game.
David Turnbull: 7
His directness helped Celtic dictate the tempo in the decisive moments.
Luis Palma: 7.5
Scored the first goal for his new club as he cut inside from the left and fired into the back of the net.
