Three winners and three losers from Aberdeen’s loss against Celtic
Aberdeen’s poor start to the season continued with a concerning performance against Celtic giving manager Jimmy Thelin with decisions to make.
The Dons’ positive starts soon faded and Celtic dominated proceedings and claimed a comfortable victory at Pittodrie.
Benjamin Nygren’s first half goal and Reo Hatate’s stunning strike in the second handed Aberdeen a second consecutive defeat following their loss at Hearts.
Below are three winners and three losers after the Celtic defeat.
Winners: Teenager to break through amid midfield struggles
Adil Aouchiche
The Sunderland loanee looked Aberdeen’s best outfield player, with the 23-year-old showing flashes of his quality.
Adil Aouchiche forced Kasper Schmeichel into a first half save with a long-range strike which threatened to swerve past the gloves of the goalkeeper.
That was the closest Aberdeen came to scoring and showed Aouchiche is not afraid to strike from range when offered time and space.
Having played the full 90 minutes in both league fixtures so far, Aouchiche looks to be a key player for Aberdeen this season.
Dimitar Mitov
The ever reliable Dimitar Mitov again showed he is one of the Scottish Premiership’s best goalkeepers.
The 28-year-old thwarted Celtic on numerous occasions and commanded his box well, ensuring the visitors could not add to their goal tally.
The Aberdeen number one could do nothing about the two Celtic goals, even though he looked to have gotten finger tips on the strike.
Fletcher Boyd
The 17-year-old has been brought off the bench in the first two games of the season and perhaps that indicates Fletcher Boyd could be a rising star for Aberdeen this season.
Boyd could do little to impact the game against Celtic’s strong midfield trio, but with 34-year-old Graeme Shinnie and 33-year-old Sivert Heltne Nilsen both at the end of their careers, there is an opportunity for the teenager to break into the side.
Will likely get a chance from the start to impress Thelin as Aberdeen travel to Morton in the League Cup next.
Losers: Striker issues for Aberdeen
Kusini Yengi
Playing against Celtic will be the toughest assignment Kusini Yengi will undertake this season, but the striker offered little respite for his team mates.
Yengi also offered little against Hearts, and with Aberdeen yet to score a goal this campaign his place in the team is under threat.
Substituted for Ester Sokler in the second half, Thelin may hand the Slovenian a start in Aberdeen’s next league game at Dundee United.
Nicky Devlin
The full-back endured a tough afternoon and was unable to deal with James Forrest and Celtic’s movement down the right flank.
Nicky Devlin suffered from a clash of heads with Liam Scales during the first half, prompting the 31-year-old to be checked for concussion by the Aberdeen medical team.
That may have had an impact on Devlin being unable to offer his usual defensive reliability, and he picked up a late yellow card to add to his woes.
Sivert Heltne Nilsen
Aberdeen’s midfield was off the pace all match and Sivert Heltne Nilsen suffered the most in the middle of the park.
As per Fotmob, Nilsen failed to win any of his ground or ariel duels, only completed 12 of his 19 passes and touched the ball just 21 times.
Failing to protect his back four or provide a basis for Aberdeen to attack, Nilsen was replaced in the second half alongside Graeme Shinnie who also struggled.
Boyd, Dante Polvara and Leighton Clarkson will all be vying for his place at Tannadice next in the league.