The Celtic numbers: How Hoops were crowned champions

After a cagey first half, in which the home side looked to be the better of the two teams, Alex Cochrane was sent off for the hosts just before half-time. In the second 45, a 30th goal of the season from Kyogo Furuhashi and a late Hyeon-gyu Oh finish ensured that the three points were returning to Glasgow, thus securing the league title for Celtic.

Ange Postecoglou made two changes from the side that beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. Both of these were forced, as defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston were unavailable for selection, meaning that Yuki Kobayashi and Anthony Ralston took their respective positions in the team.

Apart from these alterations, it was largely the same team that took to the field at the national stadium. Reo Hatate was preferred to his fellow Japanese team-mate Tomoki Iwata, while Matt O’Riley retained his position in the midfield ahead of the likes of Aaron Mooy and David Turnbull.

It was again an unchanged team in the attacking areas, with Daizen Maeda and Jota occupying either side of top-scorer Kyogo. After shaking off a recent injury, there was a place on the bench for the returning Liel Abada, further demonstrating the strength in depth that the Glasgow side possesses in its ranks.

Here, The Celtic Way rounds up the best StatsBomb data from the game to give you a match report like no other…

 xG/trendline

It was the home side who threatened to break the deadlock first. Japanese forward Yutaro Oda was the first player to register a chance, with his shot blocked by fellow countryman Kobayashi outside the box (0.03 xG).

Following further chances from corners from Josh Ginnelly and Kye Rowes (0.02 and 0.04 xG, respectively), Celtic created statistically their best chance of the half, with Greg Taylor heading a cross over the bar (0.08). It was a difficult opportunity, but the best one the away side created during the opening 45 minutes.

READ MORE: Why moving any mountain is not beyond Celtic Shaman Ange Postecoglou

Hearts’ best chance in the entire game came from striker Lawrence Shankland, who completed a fast break before seeing his shot blocked by Carl Starfelt in the Celtic box (0.07 xG). Two headers from defenders James Hill and Rowles accumulated 0.04 and 0.03 xG, respectively, before half-time. These were to be the Jambo's last chances created in the fixture, and this is clearly shown in the race chart as Hearts' line abruptly ends before the half-time mark, due to the home side not managing a single shot whatsoever after this point.

Thanks to Cochrane’s dismissal in the 45th minute, it was all Celtic in the second half from an xG perspective. After chances from Maeda, Hatate (x2) and Taylor, Kyogo broke the deadlock in the 67th minute.

Following a looping ball from captain Callum McGregor, Hatate expertly took the ball down the line and crossed the ball to Kyogo, who touched the ball past Zander Clark into the Hearts goal.

This chance had the second-highest xG number for an opportunity in the game, scoring a total of 0.34 in the process. However, Kyogo's shot only scored a post-shot xG (post-shot expected goal) of 0.25, thanks to the way in which the striker uncleanly took the shot when the chance was presented to him.

Despite Celtic’s clear dominance – helped in part due to the man advantage – there was a real lack of clear-cut chances present in the game, meaning a low xG total for the Hoops in the statistics.

Indeed, it took until the 80th minute for Celtic’s highest-scoring xG chance to transpire, coming for Oh’s goal to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

Following good work from substitutes Sead Haskabanovic and Aaron Mooy, the latter delivered a ball into Oh’s path, and the South Korean was there to accurately place the ball into the opposition’s goal to finish off the scoring.

In doing this, Oh managed to dispatch what was the best chance created in the game statistically (0.40 xG). Our data provider calculated that the game was scored 1.17-0.26 on accumulative xG, concluding that Celtic perhaps overachieved on their margin of victory thanks to outperforming their total, despite their dominance on the park, particularly in the second half.

The race chart regarding xG concluded that based on the chances created, the away side would win this game 64 per cent of the time, with the event of a draw or defeat only clocking up a score of 28 and eight per cent, respectively.

Celtic had 12 attempts at goal, with only three on target, two of those being the goals from Kyogo and Oh.

Both of these goals were in the keeper’s six-yard box, which is one of the factors as to why they accumulated a higher xG score. Celtic take on average, a total of 18.53 per 90 minutes, so this was a less productive day in terms of chance creation.

Hearts achieved seven shots in this game, with none on target for the home side. They too underachieved on their average, as they typically take 11.97 shots per 90 minutes. It must be underlined, however, that all of their chances came in the first half with 11 men on the park, so this average is unrealistic in this game given the circumstances.

Hatate was Celtic's busiest attacker in this game in terms of shots, with the Japanese player taking three, although accumulating a very low xG of 0.09, showing the difficulty of the chances he was attempting to convert. Taylor had two shots at 0.11 xG, while a total of seven different players all had one shot each, with Oh accumulating the highest total of 0.40 off of one shot in an efficient display of forward play.

READ MORE: Postecoglou leaving Celtic? He still has much to achieve - Kevin McKenna

For the home side, defender Rowles had the most shots for his team with just two (highest xG of 0.08 for Hearts), with five of his team-mates all having a shot, these occurring in the first half of proceedings.

Possession, passing & positions

As is the case in the majority of games Celtic play, the Hoops enjoyed the bulk of possession in proceedings. The visiting side had 70 per cent possession with 632 passes (525 completed) at an 83 per cent success rate. The Jambos only had 30 per cent of possession in the game, making 266 passes (152 completed) at a success rate of only 57 per cent.

The passing network gives an idea of where the majority of the game was played and who was the most involved in it. Remember that the warmer the colour, the more influential the player and the thicker the passing lines, the more passes between the players.

StatsBomb measures pass contributions in on-ball value (often referred to as OBV, a term breakdown can be read here).

For Celtic, Hatate stands out with regards to his OBV, accumulating 0.21 with 45 passes. O’Riley was perhaps the most efficient operator in the Celtic team, with 0.15 OBV off of just 20 passes in the game.

Jota had a lesser impact on OBV, scoring a -0.08 off of 19 passes, a low for the team as a whole. Maeda was similar with -0.04 off of 15 passes.

For the home side, Rowles was again top for Hearts, with a score of 0.13 OBV off of 13 passes. Conversely, James Hill was at the bottom, with -0.14 OBV based on 11 passes. Yutaro Oda was also low, with -0.08 OBV off of just eight passes, despite being brought off before half-time due to the sending off of Cochrane.

Celtic’s passing network from the 11 players that started indicates that a lot of their success came down the left-hand side of the pitch. As previously discussed, Hatate was the most productive, the warm colour indicating his influence on the game in the middle of the park.

For Hearts, both Rowes and Barrie McKay were influential for the Jambos, but the lack of lines on the network shows just how under the cosh the home side was, especially after half-time with 10 men.

O’Riley led the key passers stat for the visitors with three made on an xG of 0.18. Hatate was the most efficient this time with an xG total of 0.36 off of two passes, including an assist for Kyogo’s goal. McGregor also produced two passes, at a lower xG of 0.05.

Pressing and defending

Celtic initialised 82 pressures in this game to Hearts’ 173, however, the home side was only able to regain the ball 14 times, with the Hoops managing 17 off of far fewer pressures attempted.

Unsurprisingly, O’Riley was top of the pressures chart with 13 carried out, with Maeda and Taylor just behind him on 11 and 10 respectively. The Dane was also joint-top on counterpressures too, sharing the summit with Taylor on four. 

Surprisingly, Oda was joint-top for Hearts, managing 23 pressures alongside Peter Haring despite being substituted before half-time. Shankland and Josh Ginnelly were not far behind, both managing 21 pressures, with the former managing 10 counterpressures also.

On the defensive side of things, it was a strong showing for Kobayashi, alongside defensive stalwart Carl Starfelt. The Japanese defender won 73 per cent of his aerial duels, a total of eight in an impressive showing for Carter-Vickers’ replacement at the back. Two interceptions at the back capped off a good day for the 22-year-old.

For Hearts, Hill was the standout in terms of defensive numbers. The Bournemouth loanee made seven tackles and four interceptions, winning 75 per cent of his aerial duels, in what was a demanding day for the home side, especially in the second half as Celtic looked to clinch the title against the 10 men of Hearts.