Celtic got back to winning ways last Saturday, as they defeated Hearts 3-0 at home in the Scottish Premiership. Brendan Rodgers’ side was looking to respond correctly, following their Glasgow Derby defeat to Rangers just under two weeks ago.
After being under the cosh in the opening 15 minutes, Daizen Maeda would open the scoring after Callum McGregor threaded the ball to the in-form attacker. He would then clip the post via Nicolas Kuhn’s cross, though Jota was on hand to tap home the rebound, before scoring his second after good play from back to front, with Kuhn finding the striker free in the box to tap the ball past Craig Gordon.
Using StatsBomb data, metrics and analytics, The Celtic Way's Ryan McGinlay brings you a match report unlike any other…
Key stats + race chart
Despite a difficult start to proceedings, Celtic dominated Saturday’s game against Hearts. Managing 70 per cent possession, 837 attempted passes, 89 per cent pass completion, 12 shots (six on target) and 2.58 cumulative xG, it was a straightforward afternoon against the visitors to Celtic Park, who only managed two shots on target and 73 per cent passing accuracy.
After a fairly even start concerning xG, Celtic would begin to pull away after scoring the opening goal, though the second – a Jota tap-in – allowed the hosts to pull away. Effectively a procession in the second half, Celtic would maintain control without threatening to increase their lead, as the game was over as a contest.
By measuring both teams’ xG totals, Celtic were given a 90 per cent chance of winning this game, while a draw was the next-best probability at seven per cent. Neil Critchley’s team were given just a three per cent chance of coming out on top in this one.
Formation + passing
As is almost always the case, Celtic lined up in their usual 4-3-3 formation for this match.
Viljami Sinisalo made his league debut for the club, replacing the injured Kasper Schmeichel, who sustained a shoulder injury while on international duty for Denmark. Maik Nawrocki retained his spot in defence alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers, while Alistair Johnston and Jeffrey Schlupp played in the full-back areas.
McGregor returned to the side following a calf injury, where he was supported in midfield by Arne Engels and Reo Hatate respectively. Maeda led the line, while Jota and Kuhn played on the left and right wing of attack.
The passing network takes OBV (on-ball value) into account, concerning a player’s performance in possession. From Saturday’s game, it is clear that two players excelled in this particular metric: Schlupp and Kuhn. That being said, the rest of the team did not manage to hit the same heights as the left-back and right-winger, as six players contributed negative OBV totals.
Though Schlupp’s circle is bigger due to playing more passes, Kuhn was quality over quantity, managing a massive 0.44 OBV for just 16 passes, while 84 passes earned Schlupp 0.19. Jota, Hatate, Maeda, Johnston, Engels and Sinisalo were the guilty parties concerning negative OBV.
On the topic of passing, it was a return to form for Kuhn, who had three key passes in 70 minutes of action for Celtic. McGregor had two, while Jota and Engels each had one to their name.
Shooting
Though not the busiest shot map of the season for Celtic, Rodgers’ side was ruthless when presented with good opportunities. This is shown in the colouring of the chances, as the two hexagons indicate Maeda and Jota’s close-range finishes, while the triangle represents the former’s well-taken opener.
Speaking of the opener, this goal was a brilliant move from start to finish. After receiving the ball in the middle of the park, McGregor pushed forward, before playing a cutting through-ball into the path of Maeda. The Japan international opened up his body and slotted the ball low past Gordon in Hearts’ goal – many in attendance were celebrating before the ball hit the back of the net.
Rising slightly from 0.41 to 0.43 in xG-PSxG, Maeda would get the ball literally rolling for the would-be champions after 17 minutes.
Though Kuhn picked up a ‘Key Pass’ for his role in the second goal, he should have been walking away with two assists, as Maeda was so unlucky with the header, following the German’s cross into the box. Somewhat fortuitously, the header rebounded straight into the path of Jota, who had continued his run – with the Portugal winger claiming his reward for his determination.
A tap-in for the wide-man, Jota’s chance rose from 0.71 to 1.00 – he was not missing what was an open goal for his employers.
Arguably the pick of the bunch concerning perfect team goals, Nawrocki played the ball from defence into Hatate, whose stretching pass/tackle allowed Kuhn to make his way to the byline with the ball. Timing his run perfectly – for both accuracy and beating the offside trap – Kuhn squared the ball to Maeda, who – like Jota – was not going to miss from a couple of yards out.
0.83 to 1.00 for Maeda in xG to PSxG – his 30th goal of what has been a brilliant season for Celtic’s in-form forward.
With 1.36 xG in total, Maeda was Celtic’s top shooter with three, while Nawrocki, Schlupp and Hatate each had two. McGregor contributed one shot, too.
Defending
As expected, with more of the ball, Celtic contributed less pressures than the visitors at a rate of 152-206, though pressure regains were closer at a rate of 32-35 in favour of the Jambos.
Not one to shy away from his defensive duties, Maeda supplied his team with 27 pressures, while Kuhn had 15. The former would also lead his team in counterpressures with five, as Kuhn and Jota both contributed three each.
Defensively, the home side had little to do, though Schlupp led the way with four tackles for his team, with Carter-Vickers not far behind him with three. McGregor contributed two interceptions, while Nawrocki was dominant at the back with eight clearances and seven aerial wins – a 100 per cent success rate for the latter.
Final thoughts
After a Glasgow Derby, the next best fixtures for Celtic are against teams like Hearts, whose supporters expect them to attack despite the gap in quality between the two sides.
With his second good performance in a row, Nawrocki’s resurgence continued at the back, though it would seem that Rodgers is still to be convinced that the Poland defender is the long-term option ahead of the likes of Auston Trusty and Liam Scales. Despite this, the former Legia Warsaw man did his prospects no harm with his performance on Saturday.
Last weekend was all about Maeda, however, who hit 30 goals for the first time in his career. Arguably Rodgers’ most-improved player over his two spells at the club, the versatile attacker is a shoo-in for individual accolades at the end of his magnificent season for the club – and deservedly so.
Three points closer to where they want and need to be – this was a much-needed stress-free Saturday for the hosts at Celtic Park.
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