Pat Bonner shares something he’s personally noticed about Kieran Tierney in Celtic win vs Dundee
Kieran Tierney may have been the key takeout from Celtic’s dramatic turnaround victory over Dundee FC on Saturday.
The Bhoys hosted Steven Pressley’s side at Celtic Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, as Chukwubuike Adamu’s late debut goal forced the game to extra time, where Sebastian Tounekti sealed the win.
Martin O’Neill has lifted spirits at Celtic since coming back after Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous reign, and the boss will be delighted with his players right before the run-in of the Scottish Premiership after they showed grit and determination for a win.
Even better for O’Neill, he has an ever-improving Tierney, who now may be reaching his peak levels at the right time.
Pat Bonner claims Kieran Tierney looks back to full fitness
Tierney resigned for Celtic on a free transfer in the summer, but many have argued that the Bhoys have yet to see his best form since returning.
The ex-Asrenal man played 90 minutes against Dundee, and while on the pitch at least, he seemed to be the only one who gave the Hoops a chance down the left-hand side of play.
While commenting on BBC‘s live matchblog, Pat Bonner highlighted that the left-back now looks like his old self due to an improvement in his fitness levels.
Bonner said: “Tierney has come into a game over the past few weeks. You can see he knows he’s a lot fitter now.”
When looking at Tierney’s performances in depth, it’s clear to see that Bonner is spot on in his assessment of the defender.
Tierney’s numbers don’t lie; he’s getting back to 100%
Tierney’s experience will be crucial from now until the end of the season, but the qualities that he offers O’Neill can be the real difference.
The left-back would love nothing more than to get his hands on silverware once more for Celtic, and his performances are showing that he’s doing what he can on the field.
| Game | Sofascore rating |
| Celtic vs Falkirk | 7.8 |
| Celtic vs FC Utrecht | 7.2 |
| Hearts vs Celtic | 6.5 |
| Bologna vs Celtic | 6.7 |
| Falkirk vs Celtic | 7.3 |
As highlighted by Sofascore, Tierney has been putting in consistent performances even when the rest of his teammate’s aren’t at their best.
Tierney has been chipping in with solid defensive performances, but even more so, impressive attacking returns at the other end, and that falls down to his willingness to bomb up and down the left flank.
With the Scottish international now seemingly improving week on week, Celtic supporters can look forward to an exciting final few months of the season.