Why Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn has started the season well

An early goal from Nicolas Kuhn and a fantastic strike from captain Callum McGregor was enough to ease Brendan Rodgers’ side to victory in the capital last Sunday. Kuhn’s early opener in Leith made it two in two for the German winger who also provided an ‘assist’ for McGregor’s goal. With three goal contributions in his first two league games, following on from a strong pre-season, the former Rapid Vienna attacker is starting to look part after a mixed first six months following his January move to Glasgow.

Here, we look closer at the areas where Kuhn has excelled over the opening two league matches and highlight where he can become even better in the weeks and months ahead…

Goal-scoring touch

Kuhn had already demonstrated some goal-scoring prowess with a couple of strikes in his first few months as a Celtic player, and he produced a deadly double against Premier League Champions Manchester City in pre-season.

The former Ajax and Bayern Munich prospect has carried that into the new league campaign grabbing the third in the opening weekend 4-0 win over Kilmarnock before breaking the deadlock at Easter Road last weekend.

With eight shots in his first two games, Kuhn’s second league goal came from the German playing a nicely weighted ball over the top to Kyogo following a turnover. Kuhn was then alive to tap home at the back-post from James Forrest’s cross after Hibs’ keeper Josef Bursik had pushed Kyogo’s attempt from outside the box wide, but only as far as Forrest who reacted quickest. 

Interestingly, Kuhn’s knack for popping up in this position was also on show last season with his first Celtic Park goal against St Johnstone in March coming from a very similar position.

It is also a position that the manager is clearly looking for Kuhn to continue getting into as he revealed after the game in Edinburgh on the weekend. Rodgers said: “That position is something that we constantly tell him to get into. Get in the second post, be there, all the wingers, be ready for crosses.”

Kuhn’s other early attempts have highlighted his tendency to get into other high-quality goalscoring positions, as his shot map from StatsBomb below, shows.

Only one of his eight attempts in the first two league games has come outside the box with all his attempts coming from mostly central areas that tend to be higher-quality with his average xG per shot a healthy 0.19 so far. If he continues to get into these types of positions, particularly hitting that second post for crosses from the other side, there will no doubt be plenty more goals to come for Kuhn this season.

Dynamic dribbling

Kuhn’s dribbling ability certainly stood out during his time at Rapid Vienna and this has been another aspect of his game on show in the opening two league games.

According to Wyscout, the 24-year-old has, impressively, completed seven of his eight attempted dribbles in both games. He has also registered ten progressive runs across the first two games, six against Kilmarnock and four at Hibs.

Capable of carrying the ball at pace over distance, it was his dribble down the line and then infield, cutting onto his stronger left foot, that led to his goal against Kilmarnock.

Hibs defenders not dealing with the winger’s speed with the ball and quick changes of direction much better with the home side left-back Jordan Obita having an especially tough time dealing with Kuhn on Sunday.

The ease with which Celtic built through Hibs presented plenty of opportunities for Kuhn, and Forrest on the opposite side, to go 1v1 against the home side full-back.  On more than one occasion Kuhn was able to leave Obita in a tangle, such as the below example in the second half.

Here, Kuhn initially shaped as if he was going on the outside of the English defender before dropping his shoulder and jinking inside.

In this passage of play, he perhaps took one too many touches (more on that shortly) before then passing the ball off to Greg Taylor on the edge of the box. His positivity in this kind of scenario is encouraging though with his ability to drive both the outside and inside adding a layer of unpredictability to his game.

His teammate, and right-side colleague, Alistair Johnston summed up the growing threat that Kuhn’s dangerous dribbling brings post-match. The Canadian said: “He's now actually driving it, going at people. And I tell you what, he's a nightmare to defend because he can go inside, he can burn you on the outside and put it onto his right foot. So he poses some serious threats.”

Defensive duties

For all his attacking threat, Kuhn has not neglected his duties off-the-ball in the opening couple of league matches.

Again, there were flashes of this last season, especially winning the ball back in dangerous areas. A good example of this was when he nabbed the ball back just outside the Livingston box which led to the opener in a crucial league victory back in March.

A willing presser, Kuhn averaged 28.99 PAdj pressures per 90 in his just under 10 league appearances last season according to StatsBomb, in the 98th percentile versus other wingers/central attacking midfielders in the league. So far this season, he has made 10 ball recoveries in the opposition half, five at Easter Road and five against Killie.

Although he has a slight frame, he could perhaps show a bit more aggression in these situations but it is also encouraging to see him still doing his bit for the team off-the-ball, as well as providing a threat with it.

Where he can get even better

Kuhn led the way when it came to touches in the box at Easter Road on Sunday (12). This is generally positive and further highlights that he is getting into those previously mentioned high-quality goalscoring positions. However, a case could be made he is taking one or two touches too many at times.

Perhaps taking one or two touches less once in the box to get his shot off that bit earlier would make Kuhn even more dangerous. For example, there were occasions last weekend when he came infield, taking several touches into the box that then allowed defenders time to get into positions to block his shots. As his shot map from last Sunday shows, all three of his attempts outside his goal were blocked by Hibs players.

As well as narrowing space to get his shot off, taking too many touches in and around the box can also cut off potential opportunities to pass to a teammate. Early days of course, but for all his good play in the opening two league fixtures, Kuhn has only produced two key passes, both of which came on Sunday. The first, his ball over the top for Kyogo in the build-up to his opener, the second, his lay-off for McGregor’s thunderous strike from distance. The combined xG Assisted value of these two key passes totalling just 0.07.

So, as well as getting shots off a bit quicker, being a bit more decisive in these areas could also create more opportunities for his teammates. Hopefully, this is something he can build on as the season progresses.

Conclusion

Despite some well-documented ‘teething’ problems, Kuhn still showed flashes of quality in his first six months at the club. Now, with a full pre-season under his belt, he has burst into the new season. His two very encouraging displays have showcased his knack for getting into high-quality goal-scoring positions, dynamic dribbling and diligent defensive contributions.

Very early days, of course, and there are still areas where Kuhn could further refine his game. Specifically, he could benefit from being more decisive in the final third, reducing the number of touches before shooting/releasing the pass. More generally, and not unrelated, he does need to provide more creativity.

Additionally, while his defensive efforts have been commendable, higher-level opposition lies in wait so he could do with adding a touch more aggression to enhance his effectiveness in this area ahead of those challenges.

If Kuhn can continue to polish those attacking instincts and maintain his defensive contributions, then there is every chance he will be a key figure for Rodgers this season.