Detailed Celtic player ratings as imperious Reo Hatate leads Hoops back to winning ways

Josip Juranovic: Letting his fellow defenders know that the nature of Motherwell’s early spurt of pressure was simply not on helped set the tone for a first half that – a couple of minutes aside – became almost entirely one-way traffic thereafter. He cracked the crossbar with a 35th-minute free-kick but found his own net just 60 seconds later when his attempted chest pass back to keeper Hart trickled over the line. The subject of listening for a shout from your keeper will endure over the next few days but it is how you respond to setbacks that matters and in that regard Postecoglou will likely be happy with Juranovic’s attitude. His occasionally lax passing is usually attributed to a risk-reward outlook on playing it through opposition lines and it was no different on this occasion, with an early one going causing a turnover but more than a few later encouraging the Hoops to progress up the park quicker as he sought to make amends. 6

Stephen Welsh: Along with central-defensive partner Jenz, Welsh came in for some criticism during the 2-0 loss to St Mirren. Kevin van Veen presented a slightly different challenge to Curtis Main or Jonah Ayunga and in general Welsh acquitted himself well in distributing and marshalling from right centre-back. That said, his speed of play was at times the subject of vocal, erm, encouragement, from captain Callum McGregor. He picked up a booking for his 52nd minute challenge on Matt Penney to spoil a potential Well breakaway following a short pass attempt while the introduction of Louis Moult gave him a more physical challenge. 6

Moritz Jenz: Like Welsh, the German was the subject of some queries after Paisley. Also like Welsh, he had notably less to deal with on this occasion overall. Any thoughts that it might be ‘easier’ than the Main/Ayunga test were dissuaded early doors though when Motherwell came storming out the blocks to win a corner from kick-off. 6

Greg Taylor: Whether winning 2-1 or 9-0 Taylor’s performance levels are generally consistent and the same rules apply here. He went about his business in his usual composed manner, linking well with Jota down the left – for example playing a lovely through ball to him in the 63rd minute – and Hatate in central midfield in particular. Defensively, he put in a superbly-timed tackle midway through the first half to stop a Well attempt on goal too. 7

Callum McGregor: The early stages suggested McGregor would be paid particularly close attention by Well midfielder Dean Cornelius – in a well-trodden route to disrupting Celtic’s flow. It makes sense but, as usually happens, the captain found a way. He ensured it was ultimately his own authority stamped on yet another match at Parkhead, most conspicuously seen when he marched through the left half-space before releasing Jota in the build-up to the opening goal. He is more vocal than is perhaps realised already but on this occasion it seemed even more so, particularly in guiding his centre-backs when building up from the back. In copping a late sending-off for hauling Louis Moult to the ground to prevent him running through on goal in the 89th minute after a rare slack Hatate pass he essentially sacrificed himself for the win. 7

Reo Hatate: An international call-up that yielded no minutes played across two games would leave lesser players cursing their luck with a World Cup on the horizon – not Hatate. He resumed making his case for inclusion in the best possible way: shining for Celtic. The midfielder was involved in most of the positive parts of the Hoops display, with his 20th-minute pass to play in Jota, his 44th-minute rifling shot off the woodwork and – of course – his rocket-fuelled match-winner when Celtic needed it most standing out. The only blot on his copybook for the afternoon was an unusually poorly-executed pass that led to McGregor’s red card. 8

Matt O’Riley: With six league assists (or seven, depending how harshly you judge these things) to his name before taking the field against the Steelmen it seemed more likely than not that the Denmark Under-21 international would have a material impact on the outcome of yet another game. He did not manage to grab a direct assist on this occasion but it was his header – saved by Liam Kelly but spinning back towards goal – that led to Kyogo’s opener. Other than that his display was characterised by ever-so-slightly mistimed passes and moves not quite coming off. While his endeavour remains a key part of how Celtic defend so high up the park even on such occasions, it was not one of his more influential afternoons going forward. 6

Jota: Regular readers know I love a basketball reference and in the NBA a player who both scores and assists fruitfully is termed a ‘walking double-double’. It is hardly a reach to suggest Jota will attain double figures for both again this season easily if he keeps this up. By the time the final whistle went he had added another assist to take his tally for the season to five already (five goals too). Starting off the left again, Jota was directly in competition with former Hibs man Paul McGinn and gave the Scot a fairly rough time of it despite what could be termed a quieter afternoon for the 23-year-old. 7

Kyogo Furuhashi: Saying Kyogo was experiencing a four-game scoreless streak is maybe a bit of a stretch – he was subbed off after five minutes in the Glasgow Derby and played just 21 against Real Madrid – but regardless of how long he hadn’t found the net for, he did here anyway. A classic poacher’s effort meant he moved to seven league goals for the campaign and overtook Liel Abada again in the club scoring charts. In a more general sense his movement was quietly near its cerebral best whether offering in behind an often cramped Well final third, dropping deeper to show in build-up or drifting wide to link up with Taylor and Jota. His sublime flick over Sondre Johansen’s head was notable while he could have had a second but for a mistimed header coming off his shoulder in the 74th minute. 8

Daizen Maeda: With just one goal to his name so far questions were posed in some quarters over whether the Japan forward should be as regular a starter as he has been. High-profile misses against Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid aside, what critics often forget is Maeda’s other qualities. The movement, the pressing, the general team-first ethic of his very being… the assists (of which he already had four, the same as Jota). He would have had another one of those but for Jota’s aim after he showed great strength shrug off Ricki Lamie early on to lay a chance at the Portuguese’s feet. Ipswich Town loanee Matt Penney found it difficult to cope when Celtic played balls with Maeda’s pace in mind while he had some intricate link-up play with Juranovic in particular but was presented with no real chances of his own in front of goal. 6

Substitutes

David Turnbull (for O’Riley 65): Entered the fray with just under 30 minutes left against his old club but struggled to make much of an impact. 4

Liel Abada (for Maeda 65): Came on with deadly intentions when he essentially forced Kyogo into a one-two in order to get a shot off as quickly as possible. He made sure the tiring Well defence were worked until the very end and looked a danger on more than one occasion – namely Kyogo’s shoulder-header – while also of note is that he finished the match as the central striker following the Japanese’s withdrawal wherein he put a good chance wide in the final seconds. Could, and perhaps should, have won a penalty when Lamie appeared to block his cross with his hand. 6

Sead Haksabanovic (for Kyogo 80): A 12-minute cameo on the right wing for the Montenegrin and he looked purposeful following an injury scare on international duty with a determined drive forward and decent attempt that led to Abada’s late chance.

Oliver Abildgaard (for Hatate 91): Made his debut as time ticked away.

Aaron Mooy (for Jota 91): On for the last few minutes.

Subs not used: Benjamin Siegrist, Anthony Ralston, Alexandro Bernabei, James Forrest