COMMENT

Celtic moved five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a workmanlike 2-0 victory over Partick Thistle at Parkhead on Wednesday night.

Brendan Rodgers kept the faith with some players who had been heavily criticised in the defeat against Hearts such as Craig Gordon and Dedryck Boyata, but Jozo Simunovic and Leigh Griffiths were out, replaced by Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard.

The game started at a sluggish tempo, with the Hoops struggling to create chances before Stuart Armstrong took matters into his own hands and hammered the ball into the net from just outside the penalty box in the 35th minute.

The second-half was an altogether better performance from the Hoops, with Kieran Tierney very much to the fore.

Edouard was twice denied by Tomas Cerney in the Thistle goal before fine link-up play between Tierney and Sinclair saw the Scottish international make it 2-0 in the 67th minute.

It wasn't the greatest performance by the Hoops but Brendan Rodgers will be delighted to see the Celts get back on track after the loss against Hearts.

Here, Football Insider rates the Bhoys out of 10 for how they played against Partick Thistle.

Click below to see how we rated Celtic's goalkeeper and defence against Partick Thistle...

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GOALKEEPER AND DEFENDERS

Craig Gordon - 6: Didn't have much to do in the game, far better than his dreadful performance against Hearts although that may be because he didn't have many saves to make

Mikael Lustig - 6: Did well going forward but not as well in defence, which seems to be his usual performance these days, far better than on Sunday

Dedryck Boyata - 6: Another who was far better than he was against Hearts, still looked shaky at times but generally wasn't troubled, really should have scored with a header in the second-half

Kristoffer Ajer - 7: Very good performance from a player who should be starting most games, in far better form than Simunovic and Boyata, only mistake was missing a free header in the first-half

Kieran Tierney - 8: Back to his best after a poor performance against Hearts, took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second-half and was rewarded with an excellent goal.

Click below to see how we rated Celtic's midfield men...

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MIDFIELD

Scott Brown - 7: Made amends for his poor performance against Hearts, performance was summed up by a late double clearance in injury time that prevented Thistle getting a goal back

Callum McGregor - 5: The first of the first-team duo to get a low mark, McGregor is run of poor form continues, he's finding it very difficult to influence games at the moment, perhaps could do with a spell on the bench

Stuart Armstrong - 6: A mixed bag, was poor up until he scored the brilliant goal that broke the deadlock, still not at his best as compared to last season but the goal is a start

James Forrest - 5: Struggled to get into the game in a performance reminiscent of Ronny Deila's time at Celtic, and it wasn't a surprise to see the Hoops mainstay replaced in the second-half by Jonny Hayes. Forrest was the second of the first-team duo to get a low mark.

Scott Sinclair - 6: Much better than he was against Hearts but still not at his very best, did well with the link-up play for Kieran Tierney's goal though which should give him confidence.

Click below to see how Celtic's forwards and substitutes rated...

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FORWARDS AND SUBS

Odsonne Edouard - 7: Unlucky not to score with a goal of efforts very well saved by Cerney in the Thistle goal, may not have done enough to prevent Moussa Dembele starting against Aberdeen

SUBS

Jonny Hayes - 5: Desperate to get involved, perhaps sometimes guilty of trying too hard at times, put in a couple of decent crosses

Michael Johnston - 5: Went on a superb jinking run towards the end of the game, had some very nice flicks and touches, could well be involved more in the games ahead

Leigh Griffiths - 5: Missed a good chance with an effort which Cerney saved, then guilty of hitting a free-kick into a wall as his spell without a goal continues

In other Celtic news, fans reacted with fury as Craig Gordon started against Partick

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