It’s very rare that the Celtic attack is visibly lacking with the side now having gone two games without scoring a goal.
Fans have been left scratching their heads as to where Celtic’s struggles are stemming from, with no one seeming able to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
Here is where this writer thinks Celtic’s problems in attack are stemming from.
Midfield
Celtic’s midfield has caused the team plenty of problems so far this season. The midfield has been bypassed and pickpocketed by opposition players time and time again which already limits how much of the ball Celtic sees and in turn how much time the team has to carve out attacks.
This can be seen as the reason for Celtic having lacked the killer pass from the midfield in the first few games this season. Reo Hatate’s absence can also be the reason for this as so often the Japanese international would be the man to provide the adventurous pass that would turn defence into attack in an instant.
The midfield isn’t taking many chances and are playing things safe, not just in passing but in shooting as well. No one seems to be eager to roll the dice and take a shot from range that could potentially win the game.
In Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic teams gone by the likes of Stuart Armstrong or even Callum McGregor would provide the big, long-range goal that could turn a 1 pointer into 3. David Turnbull has shown he has a knack for producing the spectacular but he hasn’t shown it all in the last few weeks. Perhaps he has been instructed not to, nullifying one of his key attributes.
Wingers
Celtic’s wingers have been extremely ineffective in recent weeks. Jota’s absence is being felt in the final third with no one in the Celtic team showing similar qualities to the Portuguese, who could hold up the ball and drag a defence across with trickery and skill, in turn opening up space on the opposite flank for Liel Abada to do what he does best and ghost into the area.
Yang Hyun-jun has shown potential to get to a high level, but he is not the finished article just yet.
Daizen Maeda has come under fire in recent weeks for a lack of activity and this can be attributed to the aforementioned lack of variety and creativity in the passing from the midfield with no one willing to play the pass over the top for Maeda to run in behind.
Striker
Kyogo has been dropping deep often this season and it showed some positive signs in the early stages, but in recent weeks it has become abundantly clear that it is negating the strongest part of the 28-year-old’s game.
Kyogo is at his strongest when he is running off the shoulder of the last defender and his movement and intelligence would allow him to create opportunities that can win a game.
As a result of everything that has been mentioned earlier, chances have been hard to come by for Kyogo, and, if Rodgers can encourage his talismanic striker to continue playing to his strengths again, then it would pay off massively for Celtic.
JAMES MCKENZIE
I am seriously baffled by the way BR is using Kyogo. Why would you mess with a striker who scored 35 goals last season.
I also don’t understand why our club don’t have 4 quality strikers.
I hope we get new players in before the transfer deadline and BR improves our current displays.