In-form Celtic were desperate to continue the winning streak this afternoon against St. Johnstone and a dominant Parkhead show resulted in a commanding 2-0 victory, thanks to Giorgos Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic’s goals. The Hoops are now climbing up the league ladder after a slow start under Ange Postecoglou.
Below are the Celtic players rated in their 2-0 win against St. Johnstone.
Joe Hart: 7
Had a comfortable outing between the sticks as the visitors failed to threaten him enough due to a lack of attacking moves. Impressed with his distribution and sharpness inside the box.
Anthony Ralston: 8
Lively down the right-hand flank with his marauding runs, crosses and cut insides. Set it up for Giakoumakis’ opener, and also made timely recoveries and tackles to protect the scoreline.
Cameron Carter-Vickers: 8
Another solid defensive display from the USMNT international. Played plenty of passes from the back, kept on winning duels, also carried the ball forward from the deep on a couple of occasions exhibiting his dribbling trait.
Carl Starfelt: 8.5
His best game so far in Hoops colours. Made some crucial tackles to break down the Saints moves, showed supremacy in the air and depicted great accuracy while passing the ball.
Josip Juranovic: 8
Returned from injury to feature as a makeshift left fullback. Balanced his game between attack and defence, and his link-up play with Jota down the left kept on causing menace in St. Johnstone defence. Doubled the lead late from the spot in the closing minutes of the contest.
Callum McGregor: 8.5
Had a couple of attempts denied by Zander Clark in the visitors’ goal. Kept on winning the ball back in the middle of the park and his vision, as well as distribution attributes, helped Celtic form swift attacking transitions.
The 4th Official uses images provided by the following image agency: Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/) and Imago Images (https://www.imago-images.de/)
David Turnbull: 8
Might have not found the net, but the young Scotsman created ample opportunities for the attackers. Worked extremely hard to retain possession and operate in a box to box role to showcase domination.
Tom Rogic: 7.5
Got dispossessed a few times under pressure, but his smart one-twos and dribbles opened up space in the opponents’ half. Made a couple of attempts to find the net which, however, failed to test the keeper.
Giorgos Giakoumakis: 7.5
Scored his maiden Celtic goal as he made no mistake to find the net from a close range around the half-hour mark. A massive boost for the Greek centre-forward following a difficult start to life in new surroundings.
Jota: 7.5
Continues to impress with his swift footwork, tricky runs and creative spark from the left-hand flank. Kept on whipping in crosses all throughout the match. Made way for Albian Ajeti in the closing minutes of the tie.
Kyogo Furuhashi: 8
Worked tirelessly to win the ball back and initiate attacking moves despite starting as a ‘number 9’. Earned a spot-kick late in the match after he was brought down inside the box. Got replaced by Liel Abada with 10 minutes remaining.
Celtic Subs Vs St. Johnstone
Michael Johnston: 7
Had an impressive cameo as he created a few chances and hit the woodwork with minutes remaining.
Liel Abada: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
Albian Ajeti: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
