Benjamin Nygren: Stats show why Swedish media are right to doubt Celtic star

Benjamin Nygren struggled for Sweden against Poland despite scoring his first goal in seven games away from Celtic.

Sweden ran out 3-1 winners over Poland on Monday night as Nygren opened the scoring in the eighth minute.

The versatile Celtic midfielder, 25, headed home from Victor Lindelof's flick-on to score his fourth goal in 17 appearances for his country.

His strike came seven games and over 300 minutes on from his last goal for the Hoops against Aberdeen, an unusually long amount of time for a player of his stature in the Premiership.

Nygren was unable to fully convince those in the Swedish media that he is the answer to their Alexander Isak injury woes despite his goal against the Poles.

His recent struggles for form at Parkhead look to be continuing somewhat as he represents his country during the international break.

Stats show Benjamin Nygren's shortfalls vs Poland

Nygren has registered 11 goal contributions in 12 games for Celtic this season, but was largely anonymous in their two defeats to Rangers and loss to Ferencvaros before the break.

Celtic relied on him to pull them through tough and tight games last season, which he has struggled to do in this campaign so far.

His start against Poland in the absence of the injured Isak provided a platform to rediscover that form, which he seemed to have done following the early goal.

Nygren failed to touch the ball in the Poland penalty area again all game, while he did not create a chance or have another shot on goal either.

He was not necessarily shaky in possession, but did only complete five passes into the final third and was nearly at fault for a goal after being dispossessed in his own half.

Swedish media question Nygren's overall impact for the national team

Nygren has earned a reputation for contributing in attack for Celtic but failing to truly fulfill his other duties to the best standard possible.

It looks as if a similar theme has emerged on the international stage, with Fotboll Skanalen reviewing his performance by writing: "Substituted off in the 80th minute. Was in the right place in the penalty area early on and headed home the opener. After that, he wasn’t particularly involved in the game and, on one occasion, gave the ball away in his own half, which could have cost the team dearly."

While TVMatchen also doubted his general play, saying: "Was on hand when the chance arose at 1–0. Found himself a bit out of position and dropped too deep in his role when the Poles gained the upper hand."