Celtic's current run of clean sheets assessed

Celtic's 3-0 victory over Livingston marked the sixth game in a row in all competitions where the Hoops have kept a clean sheet.

Since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2021 most of the focus from the media, and a significant portion of the fanbase, has been on the attacking prowess of the Parkhead side.

Players such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate have become heroes with the faithful due to their goals and assists.

However, no team is successful without a defence keeping the ball out of the back of the net.

The likes of Joe Hart, Josip Juranovic, Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt, Stephen Welsh, Greg Taylor, Alexandro Bernabei and Moritz Jenz as well as new boys Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi have all played their part in making sure the Scottish champions do not give up much inside their own box under the Australian.

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The current six-game streak is Celtic's best defensive run of the season - double that of the three clean sheets they kept in August. In fact, it is not only their best return under Postecoglou it is actually their stingiest sequence since the 2018-19 season.

If they keep St Johnstone at bay this weekend they will match the magnificent seven set by Brendan Rodgers's team between January 19 and February 10 2019 in the treble-treble season. Not bad company to be in.

Overall, the champions have kept 14 clean sheets in 34 games so far this season - even if it's not something Postecoglou actively seeks.

"It is something we have focused on but, to be fair, I do not get as excited about clean sheets as some other managers do," he said recently. "I do not want to be dismissive of their importance but I think it is about what our intent is and what we do as a collective.

"Our defensive structure is there as a platform for us to play football and score goals. The basic premise is that the more aggressive we are defensively then the more opportunities we will get to score goals and create chances.

"It is more about how we can concede opportunities. We defend high up the park and it stops the opposition from scoring as they have fewer chances.

"You cannot be successful if you are not solid both defensively and in attack. Being aggressive defensively allows us to do the things that I do get excited about, which is putting the ball in the back of the opposition net."

That aggressive style has paid particular dividends over the last six games - and it's been true regardless of the personnel.

Indeed, Postecoglou has played five different back fours over this run of clean sheets. Hart (586 minutes) and Starfelt (580 minutes) are the two bonafide mainstays, having featured in all six.

Yet what arguably makes it even more impressive is that, over those games, key players such as Carter-Vickers and Taylor have been missing due to injury.

Kobayashi and Bernabei were able to replace both of those men when needed, which speaks to the collective responsibility Postecoglou referenced himself.

While defending and clean sheets are not the most interesting topics to discuss a swashbuckling side such as this Celtic one, they are important ones nonetheless.

In that vein, there is no doubt that if the champions end up lifting the three pieces of silverware available to them between now and June, then the defensive players will have been just as vital as the attacking ones.

This piece is an extract from the latest Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team. 

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