Reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic dished out a clinical performance in their match against Motherwell and registered a resounding victory. All the goals came in the first half as the Hoops dominated the proceedings from the word go and barely put a foot wrong as they rallied against a lowly Motherwell side at Celtic Park.
Anthony Ralston opened the scoring for the Hoops with a cool finish at the end of a darting run from the right with the assist coming from Odsonne Edouard. Scott Sinclair doubled the lead from the spot after James Forrest was brought down in the box by Charles Dunne. A third was added by Academy Graduate Michael Johnston, who came on as a first-half substitute for Edouard, as he left the whole Celtic Park ecstatic with a brilliant finish from the edge of the box.
Here is how the Celtic players were rated from their win against Motherwell.
Craig Gordon: 6
Not much to do for the Celtic custodian as most of the action took place on the other end of the pitch. Made some regulation saves though.
Anthony Ralston: 7
Opened the scoring for his side with a brilliant run into the box and a neat finish to get it past the keeper. Kept deceiving the opposition defenders throughout the match with his darting runs and skills.
Jozo Simunovic: 6
Decent outing for the centre-back as he did everything asked from him.
Filip Benkovic: 7
Made a few well-timed challenges to dispossess the opposition attackers as he kept his side out of harm’s way.
Emilio Izaguirre: 6
Defensively very sound. Lacked a bit of pace while on the run.
Scott Brown: 7
Another brilliant performance from the veteran as he battled against the opposition to provide stability to the midfield.
Olivier Ntcham: 7
Paired up well with the skipper to dish out a calm and composed performance in the heart of the midfield.
James Forrest: 7
Showed great ball control and made some quick runs into the danger area that led to the second goal as Charles Dunne brought him down in the penalty box to give away probably the most apparent penalty decision of the season.
Callum McGregor: 6
Looked a bit shaky on the counter-attack but did well to keep the ball at his feet and deliver it in the right area to build the attacks.
Scott Sinclair: 7
Superb composure from the left winger as he kept deceiving the opposition defenders with his skills. Doubled the score for his side from the spot in the coolest way possible.
Odsonne Edouard: 6
His physicality came to great use as he held off three players and provided a brilliantly threaded ball to set up Ralston to break the deadlock. Unfortunate to leave the field in the first half itself with an injury.
Substitutes
Michael Johnston: 7
Scored a brilliant goal to send the whole stadium into a frenzy just after coming on. His energy and enthusiasm were visible throughout the match.
Lewis Morgan: 6
Did well for his short stay on the pitch. Could have contributed to a goal if his pass would have been picked up by Forrest in front of the goal.
