Celtic player ratings vs St Johnstone: Kuhn dazzles, 3/10 must be axed
Celtic have temporarily returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a comfortable 3-1 victory over St Johnstone on Saturday afternoon (16 March).
The hosts started slowly at Celtic Park but grew in confidence to claim their 22nd league win of the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have now piled the pressure on Rangers to respond when they face Dundee on Sunday afternoon (17 March).
PLAYER RATINGS
Joe Hart [5]
A very quiet afternoon for the former England shot-stopper until Connor Smith scored out of the blue at the end.
St Johnstone recorded just two shots on target during the match and Hart will be outraged that he has not left Parkhead with a clean sheet.
Alistair Johnston [6]
A solid performance from the Canadian – whose main job all afternoon was to supply Kuhn with the ball.
He dealt with counter-attacks well and was defensively solid but his crosses were occasionally lacking in quality. Unlucky not to add a late goal when his strike was ruled out for offside.
Cameron Carter-Vickers [7]
An imposing figure at the back that dealt with St Johnstone’s physical threat. The visitors planned to sit deep and hit Celtic on the counter but Carter-Vickers’ dominance in the air ensured they got no joy from long passes.
Unlucky to not find the back of the net in the first half due to a brilliant goal-line clearance.
Celtic looked more vulnerable when he was taken off in the second half.
Stephen Welsh [6]
Welsh has faced plenty of criticism in recent weeks but he can hold his head high this weekend. He dealt with the – admittedly very little – St Johnstone threat well and was confident in possession.
Greg Taylor [5]
A performance that flew under the radar. Taylor did his job well at both ends of the pitch with overlapping runs to support Maeda.
Celtic looked far more dangerous down the right – but Taylor cannot be faulted for his efforts.
Matt O’Riley [3]
Had an afternoon to forget. Struggled to create chances from either set pieces or open play.
He played far too many slow and sideways passes when teammates were in space. Celtic looked lethargic at times and much of it was down to O’Riley not being able to up the tempo from midfield.
Had a chance to assist Kyogo by passing across goal for a tap-in but instead sent his shot sailing wide.
Tomoki Iwata [5]
A steady but underwhelming performance from the Japanese midfielder. With St Johnstone opting for a route-one approach Iwata didn’t have much defending to do and his weaknesses in possession were exposed.
He isn’t expected to be Celtic’s main output of creativity but his wonky passing and absence of vision need to improve. Telegraphs more passes than Jordan Henderson.
Paulo Bernardo [6]
The young Portuguese midfielder found it difficult to break down a well-organised St Johnstone defence in the first half but he looked sharp with his build-up passes and his darting runs caused problems and drew fouls.
Taken off on the hour mark for Daniel Kelly.
Nicolas Kuhn [8]
A creative masterclass. Celtic looked dull and void of ideas throughout the match but they burst to life when Kuhn was on the ball.
His efforts were rewarded when his pass found Kyogo in the box for the opening goal and he added his own name to the scoresheet with a simple finish just seconds into the second half.
Celtic fans were understandably frustrated by the lack of money spent in January but they must be delighted with the £3million spent on Kuhn.
Kyogo Furuhashi [9]
Unlucky to not leave Celtic Park with a hat-trick. Kyogo was starved of service early on but he proved that he only needs one or two chances to find the back of the net.
He latched on to a quality ball from Kuhn in the first half to continue his scoring streak and had two other goals ruled out.
Celtic will need both Kyogo and Adam Idah in red-hot form if they are going to defend their league title this season.
Daizen Maeda [4]
A performance full of energy but completely lacking in quality. When the visitors sat deep, Maeda had no answers and lacked the creativity to find an opening or carve out a chance.
His final product will be a real concern for Brendan Rodgers but his high-press and relentless running is keeping him in the side.
SUBSTITUTES
James Forrest [8] – Replaced the brilliant Kuhn after an hour of play and made an instant impact with a brilliant strike to extend the lead.
Daniel Kelly [5] –N/A
Adam Idah [5] – N/A
Odin Thiago Holm [4] – Rodgers bizarrely forced Holm into a centre-back role in the second half and the Norwegian was caught during St Johnstone’s goal.
Gustaf Lagerbielke [5] – N/A
In other news, Celtic priority three-man signing plan revealed as ‘complete overhaul’ begins
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