Celtic obtained its place in the semi-finals of the League Cup on Sunday with a fantastic 4-0 victory against Partick Thistle far from Parkhead in Firhill.
The hoops have walked to a comfortable victory against the second level outfit, which was not in the Scottish Minister in seven years, with four different scorers.
Hyun-Jun Yang, Liam Scales, Sebastian Tounekti and Luke McCowan all obtained their name on the match sheet, and Tounekti was again particularly impressive.
Hammarby’s summer signing drew attention to Kilmarnock, creating four chances (by Sofascore), and played an important role in the first goal against Partick Thistle with his pass for Benjamin Nygren, before scoring his first goal for the club.
Brendan Rodgers hopes that the comfortable victory will allow his team to trust to hit the ground in the Europa League against the Red Belgrade star on Wednesday evening.
A Celtic player who must intensify the field in the coming weeks after a series of unaccuous displays is the central midfielder Reo Hatate.
Why Reo Hatate must intervene for Celtic
The Japanese international made a decent demonstration against Partick Thistle, a championship outfit, but it was not a fascinating performance that compensated some of its recent outings.
The form of hatatet was not up to the standards he established throughout his Celtic career, in particular with his posts in the clashes of qualification in the Champions League against Kairat.
The hoops failed to qualify for the competition phase of the competition, losing penalties after two prints 0-0, and the lack of contributions from the midfielder in possession and out of possession played a role in this.
|
Reo Hatate vs Kairat |
1st step |
2nd leg |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
90 |
105 |
|
Target plans |
1 |
0 |
|
Precision |
84% |
68% |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
1 |
|
Duels have won |
0/8 |
3/15 |
|
Faults committed |
3 |
4 |
|
Lost possession |
16x |
25x |
|
Statistics via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Hatate was far too wasted with the ball at its feet and weakly in the ball, losing most of its duels, through the two games.
The 27 -year -old star has not scored a goal nor create a “ great luck ” for the team during his last two appearances in the Scottish Première for The Hoops, which shows that he has had trouble in recent weeks outside his projection against a lower level opponent.
Hatate scored ten goals, including that of the above clip, and created 14 “major chances” for his teammates in the firstship in the 2024/25 campaign, by Sofascore, but he could not offer the same level of coherence in the last third party.
This is why the Japanese international must intervene for the Scottish giants, because he is able to be an exceptional artist for the club in the middle of the park with its capacity at the upper end of the field.
If Hatate is unable to take up the form of which his production last season has proven to be able, Rodgers must consider removing him from the departure XI for a while.
The emergence of Colby Donovan, who started the last two games at the right back, shows that the manager is willing to provide academic talents a chance if they are ready to be thrown.
In this spirit, Rodgers could find the next version of Donovan, who has been a solid artist in the last two games with his defensive reliability and his composure in possession, by releasing Sean Mcardle to replace the Hatate in the XI.
Why Sean Mcardle could replace Reo Hatate for Celtic
Of course, the manager has the signing of clubs from Club Arne Engels, who joined 11 million pounds Sterling in Augsburg last summer, Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo also at his disposal to select in the midfield.
However, the minor success of Donovan, which won five of his nine duels and had 101 keys (by Sofascore) against Kilmarnock, could again inspire the head coach to turn to the Academy.
Mcardle is not a full foreigner in football from the first team in Parkhead. Rodgers has rewarded its strong form for team B with two appearances for the senior team in the Premiership towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The 18-year-old star made his first team debut at 17 against Hibernian in first, playing eight minutes from the bench during a 3-1 victory.
As the manager said in the clip above, the young sensation gained his luck thanks to his form for team B, and he is to take the next stage of his career.
Mcardle, whom Rodgers said “obtained a little edge”, then played a second match against Aberdeen, again on the bench and showed promising signs in the two outings.
|
Sean Mcardle (Premières) |
Vs hibernien |
Vs Aberdeen |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
8 |
9 |
|
The finished passes |
8/8 |
11/12 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
1 |
|
Dribbles completed |
0 |
1 |
|
Duels have won |
1/2 |
1/1 |
|
Lost possession |
1x |
1x |
|
Statistics via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, the Whiz adolescent has lost possession only twice during these 17 minutes, the more time, football, while creating a chance for the team.
The form of Mcardle at the level of the youth team for Celtic also suggests that he can provide the threat of goal that Hatate offers his best, with seven goals in 53 games, per transfer.
The Scottish Starlette has marked in her two appearances in the Cup challenge this season, by Sofascore, including one against Alloa Athletic earlier this month.
These statistics show that he can provide a threat to the upper end of the field to accompany his composure in possession, as evidenced by his passing precision during his first two outings in the first team.
He was not deleted on the occasion against Hibernian or Aberdeen, showing his class on the ball in the two games, which suggests that he has the mentality to go to the next step to be Donovan 2.0 this season.
It is now due to Rodgers to provide McCarle with the opportunity to impress again to see if he can emerge as a real alternative to Hatate, which has been the shadow of himself lately.
