Soft Celtic concessions fail to dim dominant attacking display at Dens Park

Two goals apiece for Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota proved too much for the Dark Blues, who grabbed two of their own thanks to Danny Mullen, Lee Ashcroft and some generous Celtic defending.

Despite their defensive lapses, it was another positive afternoon for the Hoops which offered more evidence of the progress the team are making under Ange Postecoglou.

Here, The Celtic Way looks at the StatsBomb data from the game to give you a match report experience like no other.

Trendline

The match burst into life with Jota's eighth-minute goal and thereafter Celtic continuously created opportunities throughout the half and fired in 12 further shots. Kyogo made it 2-0 in the 20th minute though, interestingly, Danny Mullen's goal for Dundee was rated a better chance (0.15 v 0.23 xG). 

After the break, Jota volleyed home a third and Kyogo rifled in the fourth before Celtic's only real creative lull - a 20-minute spell which included the Japan international's removal and Ashcroft's goal for Dee.

Overall, Celtic outperformed their cumulative xG by around two goals while Dundee also outperformed in scoring twice despite compiling a cumulative xG value of 0.47. In terms of xG, Celtic would have won this match 73 per cent of the time.

Shots

Celtic rained in 24 shots on the Dundee goal throughout the game. Six of those reached the target. Of those six, four resulted in goals.

Outwith the four goals, the Hoops' best opportunities were a pair of headers from centre-backs Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh.

Notably, Welsh's big chance immediately before the whistle was rated the same quality as Kyogo's goal - likely due to the presence of Max Anderson on the goal-line.

Later, Giorgos Giakoumakis's blaze over the bar may have been put on a plate by James Forrest but the proximity of defender Anderson, as well as the near-optimum positioning of goalkeeper Adam Legzdins and Ashcroft dropping to cover the centre of the goal, meant it was rated as just 0.10 xG.

Dundee were limited to four attempts with the centrality of both their goals likely displeasing Postecoglou as much as Celtic's static defending or Joe Hart's decision-making.

In terms of individuals, Kyogo had a game-high five shots followed by Jota with one fewer.

Passing and possession

With over 80 per cent possession and more than 700 completed passes, it is no surprise Celtic's pass network is predominantly warm this week. 

Kyogo's coolness primarily points to a clinical performance rather than a creatively intense one from the 26-year-old, with Dundee's tact of trying to close down central spaces and accepting Celtic's crossing game likely playing a major part in that despite the two goals.

Every other player is a warm colour - to varying degrees - indicating a well-rounded passing performance with virtually the whole team readily involved. Nir Bitton is at the centre of it all as the anchorman, allowing Callum McGregor to occupy more advanced positions and generally ensuring the ball reached both full-backs when possible as Celtic's shape resembled almost a 2-3-5 for much of the match.

Of particular note is the link-up between Welsh and Josip Juranovic. Indeed, passes between the pair accounted for Celtic's top two combinations, with Welsh also featuring in the third spot along with central-defensive partner Carter-Vickers.

Creatively, David Turnbull topped the charts with eight key passes; five of those were from set-pieces and none resulted in direct assists. Ralston's three key passes were all from open play and resulted in two assists (unlike fantasy football scoring, StatsBomb does not credit a rebounded effort that is put in as an assist).

Pressing

In a demonstration of how in control they really were, despite spending most of the match with the ball and attacking Celtic still made the same amount of pressure regains and won more tackles.

Dundee's Paul McGowan was way out in front in terms of pressures attempted with 40 - the nearest anyone else got were team-mates Paul McMullan and Danny Mullen with 17 - while Celtic's top 'presser' was Turnbull with 15. 

The Hoops' right flank and right half-space saw more activity - in keeping with Turnbull's average position from the previous section - although the left full-back area had its share of intensity too.

Bitton's patrolling of the central areas can be witnessed in his match-high six counter-pressures with Turnbull and McGregor also showing their persistence in terms of total duration.

Defending

A few players stand out when it comes to defensive metrics. Welsh clocked up a team-high four interceptions to go with eight aerial duel wins, three clearances and a tackle.

Central defensive partner Carter-Vickers led the way in clearances (six), while he coupled that with five aerial duel wins of his own, two tackles and an interception. 

Of course, the defence's pedestrian approach to Dundee's first will rankle despite these individual statistics, while it is not difficult to argue Ralston's impact on the game went far beyond a tackle, a pair of interceptions and a couple of clearances.

Player focus: Nir Bitton

That brings us on to another standout performer. It would have done Bitton a disservice to resign him to the defending section - though his numbers would belong.

Match-high counter-pressures, four tackles, four clearances, two aerial wins and an interception are solid contributions for a sitting midfielder, but at Celtic the role requires more than just defensive instincts and Bitton rose to that challenge with aplomb at Dens.

Nir Bitton's passing under pressure v Dundee

The Israeli clocked up 92 per cent passing accuracy, played one key pass (an outrageous outside-of-the-boot ball into Forrest for the late Giakoumakis chance) and rarely looked to play it backwards.

More importantly, he misplaced just one pass while under pressure while topping the xGChain and the xG Buildup rankings in a display of composed, quiet quality that suggests he may well have a pivotal role to play in the season ahead after all.