Celtic are back in action in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon as they travel away from Glasgow to take on Ross County in the noon kick-off.
This is the seventh game of the league season and the last one before the October international break, which means that the Hoops have a chance to head into the next two weeks off on a high.
Brendan Rodgers will surely be desperate for a strong reaction from his players after the hugely disappointing result in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Celtic, who had won their opening nine games of the season in all competitions, were beaten 7-1 by Bundesliga giants Dortmund in Germany, and found themselves 5-1 down at half-time.
It was a poor performance from the Scottish giants, who had beaten Slovan 5-1 in their first game, and one that they will want to put behind them quickly, with a strong showing against Ross County today.
Rodgers could look to make some changes to the starting XI from the defeat to Dortmund, after a number of players underwhelmed, and Paulo Bernardo is one player who could lose his place in the team.
Paulo Bernardo's performance in numbers
The Portugal U21 international started his first match in the Champions League this season, after being on the bench against Slovan, and struggled in the middle of the park.
Unfortunately, the former Benfica dynamo was unable to make his mark on the game and did not do enough to suggest to Rodgers that he is ready, at this moment in time, to start in big European clashes, albeit the same could be said of many players after a 7-1 defeat.
The central midfielder was given a player rating of 3/10 by the Daily Record, who wrote that he was ‘taught a lesson’ as part of the Celtic midfield, and Rodgers seemingly agreed that it was a poor display, as he was removed from the side at the interval.
Bernardo struggled in and out of possession for the Scottish giants as Dortmund ran riot in the opening 45 minutes, scoring five of their seven goals in that time.
The 22-year-old maestro only had 12 touches and completed six passes in 45 minutes on the pitch, failing to create a single chance for his teammates, and this illustrates his lack of impact on the ball for Celtic. He could not get free to pick up the ball and make things happen, as the German side overran the Hoops midfield.
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Bernardo also ended the half and his performance with zero tackles, clearances, blocks, and interceptions, whilst he was also dribbled past once. This shows that he did virtually nothing to help his team out defensively, as the midfielder failed to disrupt the Dortmund attacks to stop the flow of goals.
Rodgers must now ruthlessly bin the midfielder from the starting XI for this clash with Ross County and bring Reo Hatate back into the line-up.
The Japan international came off the bench in the second half against Dortmund and completed 22 passes, whilst also making one clearance and one interception.
Why Reo Hatate should start
Hatate is a proven Premiership performer who the manager knows can come straight into the team to produce a brilliant performance against Ross County today.
The 26-year-old star is an attack-minded midfielder who can push forward from the middle of the park to make things happen in the final third, with goals and chances created.
Appearances
6
Sofascore rating
7.40
Goals
2
Big chances created
4
Key passes per game
1.5
Assists
0
As you can see in the table above, the midfield wizard has already racked up six goals and ‘big chances’ created in six appearances in the division this term, and has been unfortunate not to have registered an assist thus far.
The Japanese maestro, who was once hailed as “absolutely brilliant” by journalist Josh Bunting, also managed three goals and four assists in 16 appearances in the division during the 2023/24 campaign.
Hatate has been on the bench in the last two matches for Celtic and should now be brought back into the starting XI to add to his collection of attacking contributions against Ross County, after Bernardo’s poor showing on Tuesday night.
The midfield battle for Celtic
The midfield battle to land the third starting spot next to Arne Engels and Callum McGregor is an interesting one, as Bernardo and Hatate are fighting it out to secure a place in the XI each week.
Luke McCowan, who has scored one goal in three appearances off the bench for Celtic so far, is also in the mix and could push on for a spot in the lineup if he can prove to Rodgers that he has what it takes to be a reliable option in the middle of the park.
Hatate and Bernardo have both already proven that they have the quality to be fantastic operators in midfield for the Hoops in the Premiership, as shown by their respective statistics in the division this season.
Starts
5
3
Goals
2
1
Key passes per game
1.5
2.0
Big chances created
4
3
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.5
3.4
Ground duel success rate
45%
59%
As you can see in the table above, both players have created at least three ‘big chances’ and got on the scoresheet from a central midfield position.
Bernardo, however, has offered more to the team out of possession, winning 59% of his duels and making 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game, at Premiership level. That defensive quality was not on display against Dortmund, though, and Rodgers will be hoping that it was a one-off from the Portuguese whiz.
For now, though, Hatate should be awarded a place back in the XI after he outperformed Bernardo off the bench in Germany and a strong performance against Ross County this afternoon could make the position his to lose in the coming weeks after the break.
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