Celtic continued their solid run of form as they came out of another tough away ground unscathed, winning 4-1 in a comprehensive victory against Hearts.
For a five-goal game, it was relatively incident-free apart from the goals, but Brendan Rodgers will be delighted to see four of his players on the score-sheet.
Matt O’Riley continued his impressive start to the season and Kyogo Furuhashi scored for the second game running after netting for Japan against Tunisia during the international break. Daizen Maeda netted his second of the season, whilst Tomoki Iwata scored his first goal since arriving in January.
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Here is A Celtic State of Mind’s player ratings from yesterday’s victory:
Joe Hart – 6
It was a quiet game for Joe Hart as Celtic had Hearts on the back-foot for the majority of this contest.
The keeper made a decent save to deny Kenneth Vargas from a tight angle, then made another stop from Lawrence Shankland in the second-half. There was nothing he could do about the Hearts captain’s consolation goal after Maeda had lost possession on the edge of his own box.
Alistair Johnston – 6
The Canadian got caught in possession on a couple of occasions but for the most part he was solid defensively and didn’t allow Hearts to create many opportunities down his flank.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 7
Carter-Vickers was his usual composed self in the Celtic defence and he produced a phenomenal last-ditch sliding tackle to deny a massive opportunity for the home side.
Liam Scales – 7
Scales’ passing range was on full display time and time again as he was constantly spraying the ball forward. He was also smart defensively, limiting the amount of opportunities afforded to the Jambos.
Greg Taylor – 7
Taylor was always offering a passing option as he consistently inverted today. He linked up well with Scales defensively, as well as Palma down the left flank.
Callum McGregor – 7
McGregor was solid today, controlling and dictating play in the Celtic midfield. His play often goes unnoticed, but he was reading the game exceptionally well.
Reo Hatate – 7
The penalty miss may be the standout from his game today, but his role in Daizen Maeda’s goal was pivotal to Celtic getting that second goal. Hatate’s performances against Kilmarnock and Hearts – as well as his appearances for Japan during the break – will set him up perfectly for the Champions League challenge on Wednesday night.
Matt O’Riley – 8
Matt set the tempo early on with a controlled finish just three minutes in. The timing of his run, body shape, and finish made this a perfect goal.
The Dane is playing at the peak of his powers and is showing new elements to his game on an almost weekly basis.
Daizen Maeda – 7
It was a typical Daizen Maeda game today.
The Japanese international had some sloppy crosses in the first-half but he made up for all of that by being in the right place at the right time to tuck home Reo Hatate’s cross to put Celtic two goals ahead.
Daizen did get caught out for Shankland’s goal, but he was always involved in Celtic’s attack.
Kyogo Furuhashi – 7
Kyogo was always offering an option in the first-half but his teammates were just struggling to find the forward.
He was on hand to power home Celtic’s third goal with a brilliant finish four minutes after winning his side a penalty.
This was Kyogo’s 60th goal in his 95th game for Celtic.
Luis Palma – 7
The Honduran provided a phenomenal assist for O’Riley’s opener with an inch-perfect chipped pass.
A dink over the top can often unlock a solid defence, so doing this three minutes in set Celtic up for the afternoon.
Palma is continuing his good form and is quickly becoming a fans’ favourite at Celtic Park.
Tomoki Iwata – 7
The Japanese defensive midfielder is at his best when deployed in the midfield area. His early performances under Brendan Rodgers came at right-back and centre-half, but Iwata was given the opportunity to shine in his best role yesterday.
His rifled finish came after a composed and dominant display off the bench.
Oh Hyeon-gyu – 5
Oh was getting into a lot of good areas but failed to find the net with the chances he had.
The South Korean is still showing some good qualities from the bench but is just unlucky that the man ahead of him in the pecking order is so consistently good.
James Forrest – 5
Forrest wasn’t as involved today but did put a good chance on a plate for Oh which was squandered.
Yang Hyun-jun – 4
The South Korean wasn’t involved in the 18 minutes he had on the park and has dropped below Palma in the pecking order.
Paulo Bernardo – N/A
The Portuguese Under-21 midfielder was brought on with 10 minutes to go and didn’t have much time to make an impression.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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