Celtic showed their professionalism and organisation as they secured a 3-0 win at the Tony Macaroni Arena against Livingston at the weekend.
The ground had caused Celtic managers a few problems over the years, but Ange Postecoglou blew away that hoodoo, and Brendan Rodgers continued that good work in West Lothian.
Playing over an hour of the game with 10 men after playing with 9 men during the week, Rodgers confirmed that he had prepared his team for the eventuality of losing a man to a red card.
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Relentless Maeda
Daizen Maeda arguably put in one of his most impressive performances in a Celtic shirt at the weekend, earning rave reviews from fans, pundits and the manager Brendan Rodgers. We already knew the incredible energy levels that Maeda possessed, but he seemed to exceed even his own lofty standards at the weekend. It was a typical Maeda performance from a player who is somewhat of an enigma.
The Japanese forward helped out with a lot of the defensive work, which in turn improved Greg Taylor’s performance levels, completing six defensive actions as well as six recoveries. But he also passed up two big chances.
With the last chance of the game, Maeda tore apart the Livingston centre-back, before curling in a phenomenal finish on his left-foot, a perfect way to cap off a top-drawer performance.
Battling midfield
Rodgers had to have the midfield well organised after it was overrun by Feyenoord’s middle-men during the week in Rotterdam, and this area of the park was one of the main reasons that Celtic kept a clean sheet against Livingston.
Matt O’Riley completed 10 recoveries during the game, with Callum McGregor and substitute Tomoki Iwata all contributing to the defensive effort. Livingston’s opportunities were limited with the home side very rarely getting into the final third due to the solidity of the Celtic midfield and that is a testament to the efforts on display from those in the engine room.
Hart in mouth
Joe Hart has been solid enough this season, but Celtic fans have come to realise that there is always a mistake in his game. At the weekend, we were witness to one of his most calamitous errors.
Hart made the wrong decision in the end as he chose to rush out to confront onrushing Livingston forward Mohammed Sangare. The Livi forward got the ball first and was clattered by the English keeper, a rash bit of decision-making that resulted in his dismissal.
On another day and in a game of higher significance, a mistake like that could have cost Celtic dearly and a string of errors in the space of a few days this week only highlights the importance of Celtic signing a new goalkeeper either in January or in the following window.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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