Celtic’s commanding 3-1 victory on Saturday was somewhat tarnished by a late consolation goal from St Johnstone. Within the first 70 minutes, goals from Yogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn, and James Forrest put The Bhoys ahead 3-0; however, Connor Smith gave Craig Levein’s team a response early in the last ten minutes.
Whether by coincidence, Brendan Rodgers made a change at the back before the opposition team’s goal. At 15 left, Odin Holm took the place of Cameron Carter-Vickers. As a result, Tomoki Iwata returned to the center of the defense. Many have criticized the management for not simply substituting Gustaf Lagerbielke, a natural central defender, for Carter-Vickers in the first place. However, following the game, Rodgers accepted responsibility for his adjustments and acknowledged that they had changed the course of events: “The only negative aspect of my changes was that we became a little bit more passive in our pressing, which allowed them to have a little bit more time on the ball than we would have preferred” (Clyde 1 Superscoreboard). Carter-Vickers’ contribution to the Celtics was no more evident than it was when he was benched yesterday. Without the American giant, the Hoops looked flimsy at the back, and as the team approaches a crucial championship run-in, the coach should place the highest priority on keeping the 26-year-old healthy and strong.
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