Kyogo

Celtic 3—0 Hearts

At the business-end of the season, Kyogo comes alive. Lawrence Shankland almost scored in under a minute. The Hearts forward had a stinker. His handball late in the second-half gave Celtic a penalty, well dispatched by O’Riley into the top corner and made the game safe.

Kyogo scored in three minutes. VAR took almost as long to decide he was onside and it was a goal. The Hearts keeper opted to punch out a corner. Hattate on the edge of the box, looked to shoot, but instead opted for a lobbed cross. Kyogo nipped in front of defenders and keeper to head into the net.

Hatate, in contrast, had one of those games where he ballooned shots over the bar and gave the ball away, but he’s still one of the best in midfielders in Scotland. He literally rolls with the ball and creates pockets of space all around him

The Japanese’s forwards second goal was a thing of beauty. Hearts had shaded possession. O’Riley on the right touchline on the half hour mark played one of those precision passes you see on video screens. Kyogo’s finish was also sublime. Running onto the ball and volleying home from inside the box. Simple but effective.  

They had created chances. With Joe Hart making a wonderful fingertip saves from Devlin to keep Celtic ahead. Overall, the Celtic keeper had a great game. He wasn’t as busy as his counterpart in the Hearts’s goal, Zander Clarke who had to deal with almost twenty shots on goal and was easily Hearts’ best player. But Joe Hart had to make important saves at important times. And  he was up for it. Vargas’s  onside and offside shot was saved by Hart (if it went in, he’d have been on). And late in the game with it 2—0, Taylor went down on the touchline and Hart had to come out to block another one-on-one.  

Brendan Rodgers went for the same team that started against Dundee. No surprise that James Forrest, who dragged us out of a giant hole of our own making, keeps his place. Nicolas Kuhn must be doing something extraordinary in training because he’s shown little on the big stage. It was good to see Kuhn, for once, hooked before Forrest. Maeda coming on. Forrest was by far our most effective winger. I’m hoping it’s Forrest and Maeda next week when we’ll beat Rangers and we’ll go through all that bullshit of it being not mathematically done yet.

 Of course, we know Daizen Maeda is back. That thought fills me (and I suspect many others) with joy, because our win today and next week—and we’re Champions. Maeda always turns up against Rangers.

We’ve been reminded Hearts have beaten us twice. One was a free hit at Tynecastle. A penalty that wasn’t a penalty and a man sent off that shouldn’t have been. But we’ve moved on. Hearts other win is something we’ve grown used to. Smash and grab. Hearts actually played better today, shading possession in the first thirty minutes. This goes way back to the Postecoglou era and in recent matches against Dundee and Aberdeen, we’ve been lucky.

We were seven points ahead. Five points behind. Now we’re six ahead with the finishing line in sight. Plan A—beat Rangers and it’s done. But as Hearts showed in spells today, if the opposition get the first goal (we certainly hope not) then it’s not a given we’ll win. I’m pretty sure we will. Plan B is win out remaining matches. I’m pretty sure we’ll do that too. Then it’s fifty-fifty for the last game of the season and Cup Final.

We’ll take the league. First and last and always.  

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

Celtic 3—0 Saint Mirren

Zach Hemming had little or nothing to do in the first-half. Celtic had two enforced changes from the team that started against Rangers. Liam Scales has picked up an injury. I’m not particularly worried. He’s been on a downward slide. Nawrocki gets his chance and did OKish. I am worried about Maeda. We saw his value at Ibrox. It’s not so much the work he does with the ball, but his closing down, in that sense he is irreplaceable.

Yang got the nod. He took the wrong choice with a chance in under sixty seconds. He could have shot, but chopped back. His form has been up and down as it was here. The same could be said for Kuhn. He’d a disastrous start to his Celtic career and then had a few assists. I’d have preferred Forrest at Ibrox and Forrest now, which tells you everything you need to know of what I think of our wingers. But Kuhn made a few tentative passes and you wonder if he should have shot instead.

Most of our goal-scoring opportunities came from the right wing. After giving away the penalty that wasn’t a penalty last week, Alistair Johnson had a man-of-the-match performance with a hand in our two goals.  

Reo Hatate from the edge of the box and an attempted nutmeg inside the box were one of the few other first-half chances. O’Riley a sidefooted shot but didn’t look like scoring.

But it was Hatate’s genius that opened the scoring. A pass from Johnston and inside the crowded box, the Japanese international pinged it into the top corner to open the scoring and the floodgates of relief in the 53rd minute.

 Much has been made of there being lots of rain over Dundee. No conspiracy. Just Scottish weather and bad groundkeeping. The assumption being, Dundee wanted to avoid defeat by employing a rain maker. Someone explain that to me. All our games are must-win now. We take it for granted that is going to happen. But I get nervous, pre-match. We’ve seen what happened this season and it’s not been good enough.  

We’ve had high winds over Paradise making it harder to judge passes. A twelfth man. With Saint Mirren and all other teams coming to sit in, including Rangers, we know what to expect. Long throws were their primary weapon. In the main we dealt well, with them. Carter-Vickers brings composure to our defence and allows us to pass from the back.  But corners present the same challenge. But Saint Mirren’s first, and only corner, didn’t come until the 89th minute and we were 3—0 up.  

Kyogo’s goal, fifteen minutes into the second-half, settled the game. Again it was Johnstone with the assist. A delightful ball over the top took out Gogic. Kyogo from almost inside the six-yard box headed home.

Celtic upped a gear. Greg Taylor, strangely reluctant to shoot, with Hemming saving awkwardly with his knees locked together. Yang getting into a muddle in front of goal, again.  Hatate’s effort swinging past the post.

Obviously a quiz question in later years, both teams made six substations. We weren’t really sure how that worked. Something about a head knock.

Adam Idah got a late goal in the 89th minute. Luis Palma should have scored but fluffed it. His rebounded shot hit by Paula Bernardo. The ball looped into the air and easily knocked over the line by the Norwich loanee. Every point counts. Every goal counts as we know from the recent past. We weren’t as ruthless as we could have been, but after a wind-strewn first-half, most everyone would have settled for a three goal, full-time lead. Let’s hope it doesn’t snow on Hampden next Saturday.

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

Rangers 3—3 Celtic.

On paper there seems certain symmetry. Both teams scored with a deflected goal. Both teams scored from the penalty spot. And a substitute scored for both teams. Rangers also had a ‘goal’ disallowed with the score 2—1 to Celtic and the ball brought back to near the half-way life for a clear foul on Iwatta after Dessiers thought he’d scored. Both teams if they win all their remaining fixtures will win the league.

Rangers were expected to win at home, and they didn’t. Rangers fans had little to shout about in the first-half. Fabio di Silva falling over a lot and a Connor Goldson header that came off his shoulder when he really should have scored.

Celtic were 1—0 in sixty seconds. A long ball in behind. Tavernier tried to clear as Daizen Maeda closed him down. The ball came off Maeda and into the net.

Rangers couldn’t string together two passes. Celtic dominated, but they were to get their half-time lead from a corner whipped into the box. Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales were first to react. Scales tried to get a toe poke onto the ball from three-yards, but Jack Butland smothered the ball. The England wannabe found himself lucky after Kyogo nearly nicked the ball off his toes twice, but he did make a decent-enough save from an O’Riley header the Celtic midfielder should have scored from.

VAR however brought the game back and showed Goldson clearly elbowing the ball in the six-yard box. Clear and obvious penalty. Matt O’Riley stepped up and delivered, scoring with one of those chips down the middle I hate.

Kyogo had a few shots on goal and ghosted in a few times. Hatate got a shot away. A few efforts on goals that could have led to the crucial third. A two goal lead is more often enough, but when Rangers get one back at home anything can happen.

Brendan Rodgers claimed ‘the momentum of the game of the game was changed with the penalty’ which clearly wasn’t a penalty. Ten minutes into the second-half, with Rangers winning more of the ball, without looking very threating, Fabio Silva went down again. It was inside the box. John Beaton booked him for simulation. The correct decision. But he was sent to the monitor, the booking rescinded. It even seemed Celtic might be penalised twice. Once for a penalty that wasn’t a penalty. And for Alistair Johnston, who was on a booking to pick up another yellow, for letting Silva fall over him.

James Tavernier is good at penalties, and has had plenty of practice. He whipped it into the top corner, leaving Joe Hart with no chance. 2—1 seemed fragile.

Hugh Keevins talked about Celtic’s management being given a let-out clause because of refereeing incompetence in letting an eight-point lead ebb away. He’s right, of course, we shouldn’t have let a sub-standard Rangers team back into being favourites for the league. But when Beaton gets it wrong again today as he clearly did also at Tynecastle. Call is conspiracy theory, call it what you like. Celtic were in control of both games. That’s four points or more that incompetence or worse has denied us. Rangers are still in it, not through luck but help from officialdom.

Abdallah Sim hit the equaliser after a wicked deflection left Hart with no chance. McGregor was at fault here. The Celtic captain playing a ball across the midfield that failed to find his man, Yang, who was also poor in his response. And Rangers were flooding into the box. The ball deflected off the Celtic captain.

Adam Idah had come on and had an impact. He’d got in behind the Rangers defence a few times and set up his teammates. He thought he’s hit the winner two minutes after Sima’s deflected shot had brought them level. 88 minutes. He twisted and turned in the box and Connor Goldson could only watch as the ball went past Jack Butland.

Eight minutes added to the ninety. Rabbi Montondo swerved one into the far post, 93rd minute, with Alistair Johnston standing off him. Yang showing him inside and too easily beaten. An equaliser, of course, Phillipe Clement said his team deserved. The usual waffle about team spirt. Rangers are a poor team. I’m disappointed Celtic didn’t beat them today. But sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up and say the officials gave a big helping hand. If both teams win the remaining fixtures, they’ll win the league. Celtic have Rangers at Paradise. We’ll dominate that game as usual. Whether that’s enough to win the league, I’d like to think so. It was a great point today for the home team. Not so great for us. Not disastrous either.

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

Celtic 1—1 Kilmarnock.

Kyogo give us the lead we deserved just after thirty minutes. Ralston did something unorthordox. He crossed the ball from the edge of the box. Kyogo, in the land of the giants, got his head on it. But this is not a team that can add to their lead or hang onto their lead. We all know it’s going to be a header. We’re trying to see the game out going into the last few minutes. Ball wide. Ball into the box. Goal. Dave Watson 92nd minute.

Ironically, Kilmarnock had another chance before the 95th minutes were up. Murray cuts inside and has a one-on-one with Hart. But the Celtic goalie makes it look easy.

It was pretty easy to pick out Celtic’s starting eleven. It would be pretty much the eleven who started against St Mirren. But although Bernabei has technically done well, we knew Greg Taylor is simply better. He also doesn’t make stupid fouls look easy. When Beranbei came on, he gave away a stupid foul out on the touchline, near the half-way line. Ball into the box (obviously). Joe Hart has a decent save. He’d a few decent saves from corners and free kicks and free headers. Ralston doesn’t prevent the cross. Bernabei, of course, was brushed aside for the Kilmarnock equaliser.

Before that, another substitute, Bernardo, had a great chance from about eight yards to make it two-nil. O’Riley had a few efforts on goal. He did here as well. But his mishit shot fell to Barnardo, middle of the goals, near the penalty spot. He made space and put it over the bar.

We are under no doubt how McInnes’s teams play. Long balls into the corners and sitting in deep. No different from his time at Aberdeen, where he did a reasonable job, while playing some of the most dull, nullifying, Walter-Smith type football, you don’t have to imagine. You see it week in week out.

This is a spineless Celtic team. My da would have called them fannydancers.  We can’t score goals. We can’t defend. None of our wingers like going forward. Kuhn, even this early, looks like money wasted. Celtic have brought in dross after dross. Sad to say, the initiative is with an equally poor Rangers team. The difference is they don’t draw or lose games like this (let’s hope I’m proved wrong). They have consistency. Of course, Celtic were booed off. We weren’t mugged. We were there for the taking. Dreadful by any standards other than the metrics of possession. It’s impossible to look away. Equally hard to watch them. We pray for the return of Carter Vickers and, in particular, Hatate, as if they are messiahs. That’s how low we’ve got. This has all the skid marks of Neil Lennon’s last season in charge.   

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

Hibs 1—2 Celtic

Adam Idah scores from the penalty spot early and late—very late in the game, the 91st minute—to give Celtic three points. In many ways this mirrored the second-half debacle at Pittodrie at Easter Road this evening, Joe Hart was as virtual spectator. In the second-half the home team pushed up and Celtic capitulated. We lost control of the game and almost lost the game.

Brendan Rodgers had some thinking to do after we dropped two points at Pittodrie. Celtic have both a poor record at Easter Road and a poor record with taking penalties. He made a couple of changes to the starting line-up. Some worked better than other.

Many of us thought Anthony Ralston would come in at left back for Alexandro Bernarbei. I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case because Ralston isn’t great on the right, but completely hopeless on the left. Rodgers proved prescient. Triantis clattered into and stuck the heid on Anthony Johnston in an aerial duel, in the first five minutes, wiping him out and clear penalty. Ralston came on at right back. Bernarbei’s composure and use of the ball meant that he’d probably his best game in a Celtic jersey.

Adam Idah scored from the penalty spot. Celtic dominate possession and create most of the chances. Daizen Maeda in for Palma looked the right call. The Japanese forwards runs in behind and his work rate were a welcome addition and made Beranabei’s job much easier. We’ll forgive Maeda for taking the wrong touch as he did with one ball over the top, because of this. We’ve even come to expect it.

Hibs had seen little of the ball but passed up the chance of the half. Twenty-four minutes in Jordan Obita goes down the left and whips in a cross. It bounces off Martin Boyle into the path of Elie Youan. He’s central and got to score. Liam Scales gets a touch to deny him an equaliser and it goes over the bar.

But Obita too easily shrugged off January addition Kuhn, who gets his first start in front of Abada. Nothing about his performance suggest an upgrade. When Abada came on with twenty minutes left he didn’t go great either. Ironically, the standout winger in green and white by a wide margin was Elie Youan, who missed that sitter. Most attacking threats came down Hib’s wide left.

Although Idah scored two penalties, but he also missed a few chances. Maeda, for example, set him up early in the second half with a whipped cross with which he hit the bar. Later, chasing a winner, he looked ponderous and made the wrong choice with the ball at his feet. Marshall also made a save with a through ball from Bernardo.

Hibs levelled on the hour mark. Like Aberdeen, they had pushed up and taken the game to Celtic. We are prone to losing goals from free kicks and corners. Joe Newell’s free-kick is headed down by Fish. Dylan Levitt on the edge of the box, hits a volley through a sea of bodies and into the corner for his first goal for the club and a Celtic sickner (again).  

Hib’s substitute Myziane Maolida almost scores immediately when he comes on. An acrobatic overhead effort saved be Joe Hart, followed by another shortly afterwards, more easily dealt with.

The game could go either way. Rodgers brings on Palma for Maeda. I’m not sure this makes the team better. Abada for Kuhn doesn’t weaken us. Kyogo coming on for Bernardo makes the difference.

Youan again gets away and Fish inside the box looks like scoring but the ball slides narrowly past Joe Hart’s post.

Heading to injury time, Idah makes a hash of a cut back. Kyogo gets a shot away, but it is easily saved by Marshall.  But VAR shows he went down under a challenge from Newell just inside the box. Cue the Norwich loanee to step up and win the game.

Phewwwwwwwwwwwwww. As Chris Sutton remarked, every game for Celtic is a tricky one now. We’re too easily bullied and St Mirren are a big, physical team on a small park. It will be interesting to see what team Celtic put out. I think we’ve found a penalty taker, but have we found a team that’s good enough to win week in and week out. Four points out of six is much better than two. But teams get at us too easily now. We’re there for the taking. We need to weather this storm. Perhaps the Norwich loanee will be the January signing that’s actually worked in our favour. For those two penalties alone, it has been great business because we’re going to the wire and it’s going to be thin margins. What now for Kyogo?

  • 😈 “Unleash the Beastie! https://bit.ly/bannkie
  •  📚 Share the Magic, Share the Page! 🌟 #BeastieNovel #BookBuzz” 😈

Aberdeen 1—1 Celtic

A draw is a disaster. Defeat is catastrophic. We don’t need any reminding of that. We live it. Substitute Nicolas Kuhn’s second-half equaliser, after coming off Nicky Devlin, was fortuitous. Results like this are music to the ears of Rangers fans. Managerless Aberdeen hasn’t beaten Celtic in eight years. It’s been over three years since they managed a draw like today’s disaster, which could easily have been a catastrophe.  

A VAR check even before the game started. When the game got underway, a passback to the Aberdeen keeper, and the ball hoisted up in the air towards the left. We’ve watched enough matches to know how this works. Try and get free kicks and corners around the box. Devlin can take a long throw and hit the big men coming up from the back.

Taylor is tiny and he hasn’t been great this season, while still comfortably holding onto the left-back slot. Alexandro Bernarbei is so small his name is bigger than him. Taylor’s injury has opened the way for the young Argentinian to play his way into the first team. And he’s fine, as he was here, when teams like Aberdeen hardly get a kick of the ball in the first half.

An early goal always helps. We’ve scored in the first minute of our last two matches. Palma had a goal chopped off in the first ten minutes, after an Abada shot had been palmed out by the keeper. But young Israeli should really have scored. The Honduran also clipped the bar and had two other significant chances to finish. But after his double penalty misses last week, he’s no longer scoring. And I wonder now who will take our penalties.

Liel Abada isn’t scoring either and Kyogo is going on one of those goalless runs. Norwich loanee striker, Adam Idah, coming on, made more room for Kyogo. But we go back to that debate of whether he’s better playing the number ten role, where he looked more effective today. His strike rate through the middle, of course, would suggest otherwise.

Other players need to chip in. Bernardo hit the bar in the first half, in which he dinked the ball over Roos. O’Riley had a couple of efforts. He hit the post in the second half, but on another day he would have scored. McGregor had a quiet game and barely a shot on goal.

The first half went much as many of us thought. Celtic dominated between seventy to eighty percent possession. Aberdeen, in contrat, a solitary touch in the Celtic box.

The second half went much as Aberdeen supporters could only have dreamed. Celtic were linked with Bojan Miovski. Chris Sutton came out with the usual cliché’s of a thankless task in the first-half as Mivoski had few touches and no chances. When his chance did come, Sutton predicted his track record suggests he would take it.

 Maik Nawrocki, like many of the other Celtic players, strolled the first half. He played in Kyogo with a beautiful ball over the top which nearly created a goal. He was also booked for a needless foul on Miovski and probably should have been sent off for another mistimed tackle near the touchline on the same player in the second-half. No great surprise he was substituted.

Cameron Carter-Vickers was missing today. And we missed him. Nawrocki isn’t as good on the ball, which is so important when building from the back when teams sit in (as every team in the Scottish League does). More importantly, I doubt whether Miovski would have scored today had the American been on the field.

Aberdeen pressed higher at the start of the second-half. Celtic lost composure and fifty-fifty battles. The Dons were dominating. Dante Polvara played a curled pass, and it was fifty-fifty between Nawrocki and Miovski. Carter Vickers would have got there first and he would have defended better. Miovski’s took Nawrocki into the box and his finish into the corner. This encapsulated one of the reasons we were looking to sign him. But it was only as good as Nawrocki allowed it to be. I’d have fancied Carter-Vickers in this one on one.

Celtic’s substitute did bring us back into the game. But the introduction of Tony Ralston at left back tells you all you need to know about where we are. I don’t think he’s good enough for right back. And he looked as if he’d been brought off the terracing to play left back. I do like his commitment and he’s fan, but he’s just not good enough.

Obviously, we miss Hatate. Where O’Riley is this season (well, perhaps not in the last two matches) Hatate was last season. The Japanese international is out for five to six weeks. I can’t believe I’m saying we lost the midfield battle in the second half. And we’ll certainly lose the league if this slide continues. You don’t need to be an ultra to know we had to strengthen in the Window. We’ve went back the way. Regressed.

Graham Shinnie is finished. Yet he could have hit the equaliser at the close of the match after Mivoski’s earlier finish had been called offside. Imagine if he had scored. Catastrophe. We’d be calling for the manager’s head. It saddens me greatly to say Rangers are back. And if they win the league (50/50 as we now stand) then they’ll have financial parity with Champions League cash. Over and over we are Celtic supporters and faithful forever, but we’re not mugs. Whether we win the league or lose it, I think this transfer window has shown Rodgers enough to know that he’ll be away in the summer.  

  • 😈 “Unleash the Beastie! https://bit.ly/bannkie
  •  📚 Share the Magic, Share the Page! 🌟 #BeastieNovel #BookBuzz” 😈

Celtic 2—1 Rangers

It was no great surprise that Rangers fell from the height of mediocrity to their first defeat at Parkhead. The surprise for me is it’s taken this long. Of course, I’m biased. It took several seasons until after he’d left Rangers and had retired from football to admit Brian Laudrup was a good player. Rangers huffed and puffed and did little until the last ten minutes of injury time to raise the blood pressure. But I still didn’t think they would equalise.

There were two wonderful goals. Of course, all goals against Rangers are wonderful. Paulo Bernardo’s strike through a packed penalty box and into the net had me sitting on the moon for a while.

Kyogo has been off-form and not scoring. But he’s always a blizzard of activity. Always moving, closing down. Trying to get in behind. His take on the turn proved pivotal. Outside the box, he took a touch to create space and put it in the top corner. Two minutes into the second-half and Celtic had a two-goal lead.

Balogan’s red card when he wrestled Daizen Maeda to the ground was the work of Kyogo closing him down and feeding his speedy teammate. The form Maeda has been in, he’d probably have stumbled or fell over his feet. Celtic should have comfortably seen the game out from then on in. Added more goals.

Maik Nawrocki came on after thirty-five minutes with Stephen Walsh going off injured. He did OK and seems a good enough passer of the ball. I’m not sure why he’s fallen so far and so fast down the pecking order. He gave away the free-kick outside the box which led to the Rangers goal. James Tavernier’s strike was another top corner effort.

Celtic won the match by having better players. Cyriel Dessers’ chance for an equaliser, before half time, came from a dreadful pass by Alistair Johnson back towards Stephen Welsh, who mis-controlled it. Dessers took so long to shoot it allowed the Celtic defence to get back and for Joe Hart to amble out, clutching his Zimmer frame, and collect the ball. We’ve got Kyogo. They’ve got Dessers.

Good players in these matches look as if they’ve got time to pass. Chris Sutton advised Todd Cantwell to watch Callum McGregor DVD’s. He bossed the midfield in the same way that Kyogo always seems to score against Rangers. Matt O’Reilly got a bloody nose. But our prized asset was a level above the Lundstrums and Sterlings.

Paulo Bernardo only usually plays in our most difficult European fixtures were we get routinely start well, concede and get turned over. He got booked for over-celebrating his first goal. The referee didn’t book me for over-celebrating because he recognised I was too drunk to care. The referee could have been sent off Bernardo for a late tackle and a second yellow card. In other words, he carried a bit of luck. He’s seen off Odin Holm and David Turnbull for the starting spot in midfield. It’s now looking conceivable he might see off Reo Hatate, the best midfielder in Scottish football last year, for his place in the Celtic team. That’s encouraging.

Alistair Johnston could also have been sent off. He caught Abdallah Sima with a swinging arm. He’d already had a yellow, and he too was lucky. But the most talked about decision of the match also involved the Canadian. With hindsight, we know Rangers players were already offside. Johnston didn’t know that and he made several errors. He tried to shepherd the ball out. He didn’t. He tried to hold off Sima. He couldn’t. And he handled the ball. Stupid is as stupid does. He got away with one and so did we just before half-time. I think Johnston is average. I’d be looking for better, and I don’t mean Tony Ralston.

Joe Hart had a good game, but I’d be shopping for a replacement now.

Greg Taylor was decent. It’s no great secret that all teams in league hump the ball up to the left wing and try and get up the park. Win free kicks and corners and score that way, because they’re not going to see much of the ball. I’d like a new left back.

Daizen Maeda hasn’t played a good game since his return from injury. Dare I say it? We’ve a million wingers but Luis Palma is the only one that looks better than average. Even then it’s not a given. Bring back Paolo Di Canio.

We do need another centre-forward regardless of the Asian Cup. It’ll be an interesting transfer window. We’re supposed to be linked with Scott McKenna. Decently average. I’d hope for much better than another squad player. Top of the league and your no. I think we’ll stay there. But not win the Scottish. Too inconsistent. Too fragile defensively.       

Celtic 2—1 Feyenoord

Sometimes you can’t make it up. Gustav Lagerbielke nods in Matt O’Riley’s cross in the 91st minute to win it. Fans celebrated as if we’d won the Champions League (me included). If I say we will next year, you know I’m getting carried away.

Substitute, Yankuba Minteh, who’d been booked and should have picked up a second yellow card, was home alone at the back post and equalised in the 83rd minute. Feyernoord looked the team more likely to score the winner. We’ve been here before many times in the Champions League. Lazio stealing the winner in extra-time of added time. A sucker punch we know all too well.

Even in the 96th minute, when the Feyenoord keeper came up for a corner, if he’d equalised it would have felt like déjà vu. We’ve grown used to swapping victory for defeat.  

Much was made of the defeat to Kilmarnock. Let’s put that into context. Three points in the Champions League tonight guaranteed more money than the combined budget for players and staff at Rugby Park for a year. Much the same team that capitulated to Kilmarnock started tonight. Nat Phillips, who for many is the reincarnation of Shane Duffy, not surprisingly, drops to the bench.

Stephen Welsh, who hasn’t kicked a ball since August, comes back into the team. He was caught ball watching in the first half. Gimenez’s goal was ruled marginally offside. He’d a shot blocked by Joe Hart. Geertruida hits the inside of the post. Celtic rode their luck.

It’s 50/50 whether we score with a penalty now. Luis Palma slotted it away on the 33rd minute. Zerrouki wrestles man of the match, Liam Scales to the ground at a corner after the referee had warned him twice. He, too, should have picked up another booking. But to score from a penalty and a corner is perhaps to ask too much from the Papal blessing.  

Lagerbielke, joins Phillips on the bench, but it shows where he stands with Welsh playing in front of him.

The exclusion of Oh Hyeon-gyu for Kyogo is no surprise. The South Korean missed a few sitters on Sunday. Kyogo was Scotland’s player of the year. The Japanese international had a couple of pot shots on goal. He worked tirelessly as you’d expect, but it’s still not going for him now.

Oh had the ball in the net after shrugging off a defender and rounding the keeper. But he was pulled back for fouling. A strange decision since the referee let a lot worse than that go. But I’ve ran out of conspiracy theories for this week. I’ll begin again when we play Rangers, or even Hearts if it’s a slow week.

Result in Europe have made grim reading. Even under Sainted Ange we only picked up two points. We can stop using metaphors like monkeys and backs. We’ll maybe stop being compared to Man U. Well, maybe not. But it feels good.

It was a big night for Lagerbielke for all the right reasons. Perhaps he won’t be such a dud. Perhaps even he’ll start the next game (unlikely). Let’s not get carried away. I always get excited by wingers. Mikey Johnston did put a great ball across the goal that was crying out to be knocked in. But Mitchel Frame (17) to make his debut in a Champions League game. Wow. I hope he gets used to winning. I hope he’s not another Mikey. We’ll wait and see about both.   

Celtic 2—2 Atletico Madrid

Celtic take a deserved point. Kyogo scoring in four minutes, darting inside the box, after playing a clever one-two with Matt O’Riley and guiding the ball into the corner of the net. Lift off.

But in a game that ebbed and flowed, Antoine Griezmann scored from a rebound in twenty-four minutes after Joe Hart had pushed his penalty onto the post. Greg Taylor is having one of those second season syndromes. I know he’s been at Paradise a lot longer than that. But he dangled a leg inside the box and Nahuel Molina fell over it to give away the penalty.

Luis Palma thought he’d scored in the Champions League against Lazio. In 35 minutes he did score. Maeda, who was Celtic’s best player, had switched wings with Palma. He came from the left and the ball went across the box to Palma on the right, evading Kyogo. The Honduran steadied himself and blessed himself when it went in off the post. A good one-two combination.

There was still time in the first-half for the sucker punch. A dreadful ‘goal’ to lose. From a dinked free-kick (does this sound familiar?) to the left-hand side of the back post. Axel Witzel easily wins the header. Morata, who’d been anonymous, apart from a shot put into the side netting, ghosted in at the right hand post to score. But he was offside. No need for VAR, but a bit of luck and a let off. Morata kept making those runs and that’s not luck.

Celtic too had their chances, such as a Matt O’Reily hit from just outside the box. Jan Oblak made the save seem easy.

Marcos Llorente’s second-half showing was the equivalent of Maeda’s first. He made the difference and created the pass for the equaliser and also had a decent shot saved by Joe Hart.

Reo Hatate had been taken off injured just after the first goal, which is a worry in our busy match schedule. Hatate is a big player who was coming back to something like his peak.  Paulo Bernardo, who replaced him, looked tired at the start of the second-half, but it was goal- scorer Palma, who was substituted and Nat Philips brought on.

Second-half substitute Marcos Llorente was the catalyst for a second-half push for an equaliser. Taylor was booked for a foul on him. Llorente remained unfazed. He provided the cross from the left-wing from which Morata ghosted in behind Carter-Vickers to head into the net.

 Rodgers attempted to turn back Madrid’s domination by rejigging the defence and giving us an extra midfielder. Taylor pushed up to midfield where he’s more comfortable and Scales dropped into the left of a back three. Rodgers change worked to a certain extent. But so many Celtic players looked knackered he could have made three or four other changes if he had replacements of the quality of Madrid’s.

Kyogo was replaced by James Forrest with Maeda playing through the middle as we searched for a winner.

We were helped with a red card for Rodrigo De Paul. He’d been booked after twenty minutes for repeatedly claiming for a penalty in the box. With ten minutes of the ninety remaining he flicked a boot out at Paulo Bernardo after tacking him and was given another yellow.

Down to ten men, Madrid fell back and Celtic looked more likely to get the winner. We’ve been here before, of course, most recently, when searching for a winner against Lazio.  Nat Phillips won a header. Griezmann got the foul and went down with a head knock, until his own manager, Diego Simone urged him to get up. Perhaps he knew something we didn’t. Witsel almost gets his head on the end of an Atelti free kick. But we don’t concede and don’t create much with the extra man.

I’d have taken a draw before the game. It feels like a fair result. I’m a fan of the dog’s chance, but we’re pretty much destined to finish bottom of the group. But with ten minutes to go with Madrid down to ten men, we could taste those three points. We haven’t won a home match in the Champions League for ten years is a concern, but on the bright side, statistically, it’s more likely to happen. I’d bet in our next home European tie against Feyenoord, who top the group. I wouldn’t bet on taking anything in Madrid. First things first. Hibs away.

Hearts 1—4 Celtic

Celtic dominant from start to finish. It’s always good to hear Hearts’ fans booing their team off at half-time and scuttling down Gorgie Road well before the end. Brendan Rodger’s team was much as expected. Our midfield picks itself. Matt O’Riley has been Scottish player of the month, based on his goals and assists, he’ll be Scottish Player of the Year. Knocking back a ten million quid bid was just common sense.

He was at it again, scoring after four minutes. Luis Palma dinked the ball into him. A swivel of his hips and he knocked the ball into the far corner, leaving the Hearts goalie with no chance. A superb opening goal set the tone of the match.

 Reo Hatate before and during the international break looked to be somewhat closer to the top of his game. He’d a few lose passes in a half which Hearts rarely threatened. Kenneth Vargas committed more fouls than Hearts’ solitary first-half strike. Joe Hart put out for a corner, even though it was going past the post.

Hatate set up the second goal. O’Riley’s pass played him in behind the defence. Hatate, from near the touchline, put the ball across the goal. Maeda tapped it in. After the obligatory VAR check, the second goal was given.

But Hatate could—and should—have put Celtic on easy street at the start of the second- half. Alex Cochrane had taken a roasting from Maeda all afternoon. The full back was adjudged to have pulled Kyogo back after he turned away from him inside the box. It looked a soft penalty. Hatate’s penalty at Livingston had the virtue of creeping under the keeper. This one did not, hitting the post. Perhaps it’s a good thing Hatate is taken off penalty duties now. In closer games it might cost us. I’d give the ball to Palma at penalties.

Kyogo tried to take the ball from Hatate for the penalty (he’s missed a stack too). But he’s scored in eight of eight against Hearts. O’Riley dummied (or missed the ball) and the Japanese forward was on hand, as he invariably is, to fire home.

Lawrence Shankland hasn’t scored in ten games. He fired home in the 65th minute to give Hearts an outside chance of taking something. Ironically, it was Maeda that played him in. He took the ball from Cochrane but his run across the Celtic box and slack pass played in Shankland. He still had lots to do, but bent the ball around Scales and in off the post.    

Maeda and Kyogo give us an unmatchable work rate. That touch of magic and goals. Lots of goals. The other place on the wing hasn’t been nailed down. Yang had his chance in some of the bigger European matches. He came on today and had a shot on goal blocked. Forrest, in some of our more difficult matches on plastic pitches such as those at Livingston, also came on for the last twenty minutes.

Luis Palma doesn’t have their pace, but the Honduran is scoring goals and he keeps the ball better than Yang. His dink set up the first goal. He looks to have the jersey as we go into the next big European tie. And he can think himself unlucky not to have scored already in Europe. Small margins.

Iwata came on as a substitute and smashed the ball home for his first Celtic goal from inside the box after a game of ping-pong to make it four. A fairer reflection on Celtic’s dominance. But the Japanese midfielder is unlikely to be first pick any time soon. It seems likely that the team that started today will be first-picks against Atletico Madrid.

The Spaniards will be unfazed with Celtic’s pressing. Our defence needs an overhaul. Matt Philips, on loan, hasn’t added defensive solidity, but it on the bench today. He’ll be away when the loan period finishes. Gustaf Lagerbielke has come in and hit the buffers. It’s a pity we can’t send him back to Elfsborg and recoup some of our £3 million. He wasn’t in today’s squad.  Maik Nawrocki is back and it looks like him, or, fellow injury victim, Stephen Welsh will challenge Scales for a first-team spot.  Carter-Vickers is back—European clanger aside—is a big plus. Simple. We win most games with him in the team.

Greg Taylor has a poor start to the season but he looks to have picked up a little. Alistair Johnston had slipped backwards to where he was last season. But there were signs of resurgence today. Neither full backs, nor our keeper, Joe Hart have serious competition for places. But I guess you could make a case for saying the same thing about Kyogo. Although Oh was unlucky with a few strikes today. Iwata finished off his rebounded double whammy of shots.

Tynecastle can be intimidating. Not today. Parkhead can be intimidating. Let us hope so on Wednesday night. There was much to admire in Celtic’s performance. But Wednesday is the real deal. Any sloppy passing, as we know, will be severely punished. I’d put us as underdogs. But the old mantra, if we play to our capabilities, we might sneak a win. I’d take a draw. We need a new penalty taker. We need that bit of luck that has evaded us in the competition so far.  Hail, Hail.