Celtic left it late in the Highlands, defeating Ross County 2-1 at the Global Energy Stadium to maintain their 100 per cent start to the Scottish Premiership season.

After falling behind in the first half thanks to a retaken Ronan Hale penalty – his first was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, though the keeper was off his line – Celtic got back in the game through Alistair Johnston, who diverted Callum McGregor’s shot into the back of Ross Laidlaw’s goal. With two minutes to go, the goalscorer would turn into the provider, as Johnston played a well-weighted pass into the path of Nicolas Kuhn, who cut inside and found the far corner of the Ross County net - bedlam ensued in the away end.

Using StatsBomb data and metrics, The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay brings you a match report unlike any other…

Key stats + race chart

Despite the scoreline and the nature of Celtic’s victory, the visitors to Dingwall were dominant in many of the key statistical areas, such as shots, shots on target, possession, total passes and pass completion. Indeed, 81 per cent possession with an 87 per cent pass success rate underlined their stranglehold in the game, with Brendan Rodgers’ side managing just under 900 attempted passes in 90 minutes of play.

When observing the race chart for this match – which is formed by xG – Celtic actually had a lower total than Ross County heading into half-time, thanks to Hale’s penalty. However, they pulled away from their opponents following the restart, as the home side lost all attacking threat – admittedly, it was one-way traffic in the second half.

Because of the chances created and the xG totals, Celtic were calculated by StatsBomb as having a 60 per cent chance of winning this contest, with a draw measured at 27 per cent. The home side had a 13 per cent chance of picking up all three points in the eyes of the stats provider.

Formation + passing

As usual, Rodgers set up his Celtic side in a 4-3-3 formation, with Schmeichel in between the sticks for this one. Auston Trusty started his third consecutive game, as he was partnered by Liam Scales in the centre of defence. Alex Valle was handed his first league start as a Celtic player, while Johnston shook off a back problem to start at right-back. Captain Callum McGregor played at the base of midfield, joined by Reo Hatate and Arne Engels respectively in the engine room. Up front, Adam Idah led the line for Celtic, as Daizen Maeda and Kuhn were entrusted to provide width on the left and right wing away from home.

When observing Celtic’s passing network for this game, a unique graphic has been created by StatsBomb concerning OBV (on-ball value) A reminder that the bigger the circle, the higher the volume of passes, and the warmer the colour, the higher the OBV.

Take a look at Celtic’s backline, as all four registered impressive on-ball showings for Sunday’s match in Dingwall, alongside McGregor in midfield and Kuhn out wide. The thick lines especially present with the backline indicate a calm and efficient passing game has been implemented by Rodgers at the back, as all four are comfortable playing out from their own half. With Valle and Johnston positioned at the halfway line, their game was more focused on attacking and supporting their wingers than the defensive side of the contest.

Statistically, Valle was Celtic’s top performer on the ball with an OBV score of 0.30 for 86 passes. His fellow full-back Johnston was just behind him with 0.22 for 80 passes. Scales, Trusty, McGregor and Kuhn all recorded positive performances in this area, while Engels, Maeda and Idah posted negative OBV values in contrast.

Despite both having poor games at Dingwall – a belief shared by many online – Engels and Hatate each had three key passes in this game. Valle, Johnston and Paulo Bernardo had two to their name.

Shooting

As shown in the map above, Celtic managed 23 shots in this game, though only six were on target. Though both of their goals occurred inside the 12-yard box, they did attempt to score from range, perhaps due to the way their opponents were set up to defend in the second half.

Outwith Ross County’s penalty, Celtic’s equaliser was by far the biggest chance of the game in the eyes of xG. McGregor’s shot inside the box hit off of Johnston’s hip, which got the better of Laidlaw in the home side’s goal.

Due to the close proximity of Johnston’s deflection to the opposition’s goal, this deflected chance had an original score of 0.58, which skyrocketed to 0.99 once the ball touched his body. At a time when Celtic needed to get back in the game, an ‘ugly’ goal sufficed in this instance.

If Johnston’s goal was considered ‘ugly’, then Kuhn’s winner just two minutes from time was anything but. Following a brilliant through ball by Johnston, Kuhn drove into the box before unleashing a low curled shot that left Laidlaw rooted to the spot.

A difficult chance to convert – due to multiple factors around him – Kuhn’s original strike was scored at a low 0.09 in xG, before rising to 0.87 in PSxG once making contact with the ball. This was Kuhn at his very best, who repaid his manager’s faith in him after keeping him on the park despite being on a booking. Celtic’s most dangerous player this season was at it again.

Looking at shots in general, substitute James Forrest had four to his name despite only playing just over 20 minutes. Maeda, McGregor and Idah had three each, while Hatate managed two.

Defending

As expected due to the possession stats, Ross County outpressured Celtic on both pressures and counterpressures. 185 pressures for the home side compared to Celtic’s 68, while it was 31-13 in favour of Ross County.

Somewhat surprisingly, Celtic’s best pressure provider was Hatate, who had 11 on the day, followed by Kuhn with 10. The latter had the most counterpressures with six, while the former was second with five.

Scales and Trusty had notable defensive performances statistically, with the USA defender managing three interceptions, eight aerial duel wins and three clearances. Scales was dominant in the air, winning 11 duels, with four clearances to his name.

Final thoughts

After a disappointing midweek game in the Champions League, Celtic got back to winning ways in perhaps the sweetest way. While they were not perfect on the day, they got the three points that were required, especially with Aberdeen and Rangers both playing later on that day.

You could say that the international break has probably come along at the right time for Rodgers and his players, as signs of fatigue were evident at spells during this encounter.

Despite this, a perfect start to the domestic season, as Celtic now reset ahead of a busy schedule starting next Saturday versus Jimmy Thelin’s high-flying Aberdeen.