Joe Hart – A spectator in the first half, he had nothing to do in a defensive sense, the only work being long kicks out and passes to his fellow defenders. Hart’s kicking is not going to get any better in the last couple of games before his retirement, which remained sketchy in its accuracy and power. This was the same for the second half too, as Dundee probed but didn’t necessarily threaten by means of a shot or chance, though he could do nothing about the deflected strike that went past him into the back of his net. 6

Alistair Johnston – A pretty uneventful first half for the Canada right-back, who had little to do on both ends of the pitch. He allowed his fellow right-sided teammate to roam forward in Nicolas Kuhn, who had joy in the early stages of the game. A quite quiet game for the usually busy Johnston, who struggled to make any sort of impact for his side in truth. 6

Cameron Carter-Vickers – Not just a defender but a deep-lying playmaker for Celtic, the USA stalwart took every opportunity to get the ball forward into more forward areas, both in his passing and his long-distance roams up the park. Not much to do in a defensive sense, as that was left to his back-line partner in Liam Scales in the first 45. He could do very little of the heavily deflected strike from Dundee, though he continued to push forward in an attacking sense as the game went on. 7

Liam Scales – Entrusted by his manager despite a shaky performance at Hampden, to his credit he started this contest extremely well. An authoritative interception in the middle of the park calmed him down, whilst another one in the box underlined his strong start to proceedings. Much better from the Irishman, who was the busier of the two centre-backs in the first half. Though Amadou Bakayoko was offside, Scales put in an incredible clearance from what looked like a certain goal for the home side. Was Celtic’s best defender on the day, in a performance that will shut many – including myself – up. 8

Greg Taylor – The left-back had an early chance to open the scoring, with his header at the far post not coming to fruition for the visitors. A couple of slack passes mixed with decent runs, the left-back was par for the course in the opening 45 minutes, which was unspectacular but not disastrous from the Scotland international. In the second half, the height of Antonio Portales seemed to be getting the better of the shorter left-back, which resulted in a couple of nervy moments in a defensive sense for the visitors. 6

Callum McGregor – Eight days further in his recovery from injury, the captain struggled to get into this game early doors, though one of his trademark runs got him into the swing of things at that moment. A quiet first half from the midfielder, who still seems to be feeling his way back into the swing of things in Celtic’s midfield. This didn’t change after the restart, and the skipper was hooked after an hour for Tomoki Iwata. 5

Reo Hatate – Dundee must’ve been worried by the Japan midfielder’s presence and talents, as Malachi Boateng was closely marking Hatate from the off. A conductor in the middle of the park for Brendan Rodgers’ side, he played a starring role in the build-up to the first goal, playing a pacey pass into the path of Kyogo, who put it in the path of a hungry Forrest at the edge of the box. A monster on the half-turn, Hatate looked back to his brilliant best for the duration. He showed character and running in the second half, which ended up being the difference as Celtic squeaked a win. 7

Matt O’Riley – A muted performance from one of Celtic’s star men, he had very little impact whenever he was given the ball, which was not often, admittedly. He had a better start to the second half, as he broke free at the edge of the box, though his threaded pass to Kyogo was intercepted. A better second half, but still not great from a player you expect more from. 6

Nicolas Kuhn – Looked dangerous from the start, with the German cutting inside before forcing a save out of the home side’s keeper with his shot. His marker Owen Dodgson looked all at sea every time the winger ran at him, which prompted Kuhn’s teammates to give him the ball both quickly and early. He faded as the half went on, thanks to a cutting of that service and being wasteful whenever the ball did come his way. Played the duration, but was anonymous after the restart. Flattered to deceive. 6

Kyogo Furuhashi – After a quiet start to proceedings, he played a massive part in the opening goal of the contest. Receiving the ball at pace from his countryman Hatate, he deftly moved it in the direction of James Forrest, who unleashed a spellbinding shot, earning Kyogo an assist in the process. After a very quiet start to the second half, he was replaced by Adam Idah after 62 minutes of play. 6

James Forrest – Looked up for it early on, with his half-chance going well wide of Jon McCracken’s goal. That hypothesis was proven to be accurate, as the winger scored a quite sublime goal from just outside the box on the half-volley, After Kyogo had been given the ball by an oncoming Hatate, the striker touched it back to the veteran winger, who placed his shot perfectly in McCracken’s far corner, opening the scoring. Put his foot in whenever possible in a defensive sense as the home side rallied after the restart, with one interception in particular stopping what looked like a dangerous attack from Dundee. He would double his tally – and Celtic’s – profiting off of a slip from Dundee before coolly sliding the ball past the Dens Park keeper. Was replaced by Luis Palma to a chorus of cheers from the travelling support. 9

Subs:

Tomoki Iwata – Came on after an hour for the captain, he solidified the middle of the park, in a role entirely comfortable to the Japan holding midfielder. A couple of nice touches and passes – one in particular to fellow sub Palma – as he looked to show his versatility in the middle of the park. 5

Adam Idah – A pest that puts himself about whether he starts or comes off the bench, his movement seemed to be causing the Dundee defence issues, despite having little service to work with. 5

Luis Palma – Given the task of trying to succeed Forrest’s brilliance on the left wing, the Honduras international did little of note to upstage the player he replaced on the day. 4