Celtic's Premiership profligacy and the peculiar David Turnbull experiment

Seven of those victories have been by one-goal margins with the latest of them, against Motherwell on Sunday, coming despite injuries robbing Ange Postecgolou of all three of his first-choice frontline.

The manager made wholesale changes from the 3-2 Europa League win over Real Betis, reverting to the tried and tested for the visit of Graham Alexander's Steelmen.

Of particular note was David Turnbull's stint as a centre forward while James Forrest's early injury meant Mikey Johnston was given an extended run-out as Tom Rogic's goal proved the difference at Parkhead.

Here, The Celtic Way looks at the StatsBomb data from the game to give you a match report experience like no other.

Trendline

Although Celtic scored just once the trendline reflects their dominance in terms of chances created.

Starting from James Forrest's early miss (rated as a chance that would have been scored exactly half the time) there were relatively few periods of flatlining for the Hoops.

Motherwell, by contrast, enjoyed a productive first half-hour - which included Joe Hart's fantastic double save - but thereafter offered little in a creative sense. Indeed, Connor Shields' two attempts in the final 15 minutes or so accounted for more than half the Steelmen's cumulative xG.

Shots

Celtic got off 26 shots against Motherwell, with four of those mid-to-high-quality. Forrest's was, naturally, rated the best opportunity of the game.

While the total number of shots is impressive, Postecoglou will likely be slightly disappointed with the locations of the vast majority of them. Given close, central chances are generally what his teams strive for, the surplus of long-rangers and wide-angled attempts perhaps help reinforce the impact of Kyogo Furuhashi's absence on team style.

Overall, the Hoops created 19 shots from open play with at least three rated as decent-quality chances in yet another display that left the distinct impression the scoreline could have been much wider.

At the other end, Celtic allowed Motherwell nine attempts including two of good quality (that pair of Shields shots). That number is the second-most Postecoglou's men have allowed at Parkhead against a domestic opponent this season behind Dundee United's 12 in the 1-1 draw back in September.

Eight of the Steelemen's chances were in the box but, crucially, only one was actually on target. Joe Hart saved from Sean Goss's deflected effort on that occasion - and bravely blocked Tony Watt's attempt at the rebound - while a further three were blocked and one hit the woodwork.

Individually, Rogic led all players with eight attempts. Johnston was close behind with six.

Passing, possession and positions

Without a Kyogo-shaped focal point balls in behind were never likely to have the same impact as usual and - especially when coupled with Turnbull having to play up top - in this respect it is unsurprising no Celtic player's average position was in the Well box despite their 70 per cent possession and 26 shots.

READ MORE: Tom Rogic takes the Celtic plaudits but Callum McGregor pulls the strings - Alison McConnell

Given Turnbull's task of playing up front was an alien one to him, it makes sense his team-mates helped him out in the advanced areas where they could. In the first half Rogic took on this mantle with the Australian often level with Turnbull and wingers Forrest/Johnston and Abada to form a front four supported from behind by Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton as well as the full-backs.

Intriguingly, this was somewhat diluted after the break and Celtic sat a lot deeper. This ties in with the perception that the Hoops viewed the counter-attack as a potential weapon against a Well side which had started to push higher as the match was getting away from them.

In terms of individual players, Rogic topped the xGChain while Turnbull led the way with seven key passes (three from set-pieces) with McGregor next up with six (also three from set-pieces). 

While the most common passing combinations were Cameron Carter-Vickers to Carl Starfelt and vice-versa, the link-up between Juranovic and Rogic was particularly fruitful statistically. 

Pressing and defending

The pressure heatmaps suggest the game was played more intensely on the left flank but perhaps of more consequence was Celtic's counter-pressing.

As the map below shows, despite the absence of the tone-setting Kyogo, the Hoops made it their business to implement high-intensity action right across the final-third areas.

Despite largely operating with the ball, Celtic won more tackles than Motherwell while restricting the visitors to just 163 successful passes (a poor 55 per cent completion rate).

Turnbull, in his role as an auxiliary centre forward, was Celtic's 'leading' presser in total pressures and total duration with Nir Bitton the most persistent in duration per pressure. On the counter-pressing side McGregor's five was a joint match-high with Bitton again the most persistent in duration per pressure as well as total duration.

Defensively, there was a decent spread of actions across the team. Juranovic led the way in tackles (five) and Bitton in interceptions (four) with Carter-Vickers taking the credit in clearances (nine) and aerial duel wins (13).

Player focus: David Turnbull

It was an odd afternoon for the Scotland international as he was asked to play up front.

While his effectiveness as a Kyogo replacement can likely be questioned his attitude to the task at hand cannot.

The 22-year-old took three shots for a cumulative xG of just 0.25 but showed himself to be a willing presser (a team-high 18, though his five pressured action fails were also a team-leading total) and counter-presser (three, all successful). 

Turnbull pressure frequency heatmap v Motherwell

It is perhaps indicative of his unfamiliarity in the role that Turnbull did his best work when dropping deeper to occupy attacking midfield spaces.

Whether this was a deliberate attempt at playing as more of a 'false-nine' or simply his natural inclination shining through, his seven key passes, match-high passes into the box, 100 per cent cross rate and runner-up spot in the xGChain suggests he felt the freedom of almost playing between positions even if the impact he made as an out-and-out striker was fairly limited.