Ange Postecoglou's Celtic are STILL improving: The undeniable evidence

Celtic’s continual evolution under Ange Postecoglou has been clear to see over the past two seasons.

Many of the players who were instrumental under the Hoops boss in his maiden season at Celtic Park have clearly pushed on and progressed further this campaign as the side looks to close in on a world-record eighth domestic treble.

Using StatsBomb radars, which measure various metrics to measure player contributions on the pitch, we looked at four of Celtic's most influential individuals in Postecoglou’s expanding dynasty based on their stats last season and the current campaign to see where each player has improved in order to keep their place in the manager’s starting line-up.

Kyogo Furuhashi

There is only one place to start and that is with the man of the moment, Kyogo. Last weekend, he scored his 30th goal in all competitions, which was also his 50th goal in total for the Hoops. He was Postecoglou’s first foray into the Japanese market as Celtic boss and has terrorised defences ever since his arrival.

The StatsBomb radar makes for interesting reading. Despite scoring more goals already this season compared to the last campaign, Kyogo has posted a lower xG of 0.66 compared to last season’s total of 0.77. It must be accounted for, however, that Kyogo missed a large chunk of games last season due to injury, therefore his number will lower due to the increased sample pool that will arise because of him playing more.

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What also stands out with Kyogo is the increased number of pressure regains he has been able to complete, suggesting more comfort with the team's pressing model. In his debut campaign, the striker managed 1.91 regains when applying pressure to his opponents, a number which has increased to 2.36 this season. This exemplifies the growing understanding that Kyogo has for Postecoglou’s style, a key factor in the continuing success of the Australian at Celtic Park.

Reo Hatate

Perhaps the standout player in Celtic’s imperious engine room, Hatate has blossomed into one of the club's most important cogs in the machine this season in the midfield area. A consistently impressive midfielder who carries a goal threat whenever he plays, the Japan international is a vital piece of the Postecoglou puzzle.

Despite his near-instant rise to stardom in Scotland, the Japanese midfielder has really come to the fore this season in an analytical sense. Even the simplest of stats to analyse sees a noticeably marked improvement, with Hatate’s passing percentage rising four per cent from 78 to 82 respectively. This underlines the growth in his game, where he is now making the right decision more often in games, leading to less misplaced passes in the process.

Into more detailed metrics and Hatate’s improvement in his overall game is clear to see. The stat which has seen the biggest upturn has been that of deep progressions, which accounts for passes, dribbles and carries into the opposition’s final third per 90 minutes. Hatate’s numbers have skyrocketed, with his deep progressions increasing from 5.97 to 8.14, managing an average of two more of these contributions every game.

Carl Starfelt

One of the more divisive individuals amongst the support, Starfelt has been a first pick for Postecoglou in the Celtic defensive backline when he has been available for selection. He arrived with significant fanfare from Russian side Rubin Kazan and has formed a formidable partnership alongside defensive teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The Sweden international has not made as many appearances as he did last season, but the improvements in his game under Postecoglou are clear to see, despite only managing 24.7 90 minutes played compared to 35.3 in the whole of the last campaign.

His passing accuracy has gone up from 92 to 93 per cent, while his fouls committed number has lowered from 1.30 to 0.85, showing increased maturity in his defensive responsibilities in the manager’s evolving setup.

Despite Starfelt posting fewer aerial wins in this campaign compared to his first, the defender boasts a higher aerial percentage overall, increasing by three per cent from 68 to 71, respectively. This in turn displays the Swede’s continual improvement under Postecoglou, a manager heralded for his attacking philosophies, showing that the boss has a keen eye for improving players on the defensive side as well.

Greg Taylor

Arguably one of Celtic’s unsung heroes, Greg Taylor has been one of the first names on the team sheet under the current regime when available to play. Signed by the club in 2019 following the sale of Kieran Tierney, Taylor has had to work hard to maintain a starting place at Celtic but is a constant member of the first-team squad under the current manager.

Even with competition from new arrivals Liam Scales and Alexandro Bernabei in his first two seasons under the Australian respectively, the athletic full-back has been a consistently solid choice on the left-hand side of defence for the Hoops during the tenure of Postecoglou.

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In terms of statistical gains, Taylor has made a number of improvements as he further adjusted to his new role as an inverted full-back. This is displayed clearly in his turnover stats, which have dropped from 1.79 to 1.34 in his second season playing this role.

Perhaps the biggest jump comes from the deep progressions metric, which – like Hatate – has seen a massive upturn. Last season, he managed 8.20 deep progressions, which is still an impressive total given his ranking in the 98th percentile. This season, however, this number has jolted up to an even more impressive 12.69, placing Taylor as the highest contributor to this metric in the whole league.

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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