Celtic tactical and data match report against Hearts as Greg Taylor continues his tactical evolution

Positions

Celtic's average positioning reflects how dominant and advanced they were in possession. The front three were all able to stay high while Tom Rogic’s average position (almost as a fourth striker) helps illustrate how deep into the Hearts half Celtic were playing.

David Turnbull’s roaming nature comes into play as he is between the forward line (including Rogic) and the single-pivot Callum McGregor. The captain is flanked by Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston in what is almost an alternative midfield three, which shows Postecoglou's inverted full-back system was being utilised regularly against Hearts’ low block.

Even a glance at the Hearts map shows how deep they were forced to sit overall – striker Liam Boyce’s average position is barely over the halfway line while central midfielder Andy Halliday was sitting so far back before his half-time withdrawal that he could’ve been chatting to goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

Josh Ginnelly's heatmap versus Celtic

The introduction of Josh Ginnelly and a more purposeful attacking intent after half-time allowed Hearts to stretch the game more in Celtic’s final third – with Jamie Walker also taking up advanced positions after coming on.

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Opportunities and shots

Managing to get off 35 shots is impressively high – even for Celtic – while an xG of over five (5.38) for the second successive domestic home match is indicative of just how destructive the attacking play has been recently.

Hearts, like Jablonec last week, settled mostly for a few speculative long-rangers. The goals they did score were as a result of errors or slow defensive reactions and carried reasonable xG values (Boyce's penalty was 0.76 and Aaron McEneff's goal 0.28).

Passing and pressing

Taylor (97, 84 per cent accuracy) was the most involved player in terms of passing – with McGregor’s total (76, 93 per cent accuracy) notable for the fact he did not make the top five.

That Ralston and Taylor both did likely points to those inverted full-back responsibilities coming to the fore in a match the opposition – especially in the first half – offered little beyond a physical presence deep in their own half.

While their possession stats also fell from first half to the second, Celtic were still dominant. They took 14 shots and scored a goal, although they were not as relentless as the opening 45 minutes, as shown by their attacks per minute falling from almost 1 to 0.6.

In terms of duels, the match was fought more in central areas than has usually been the case so far this season (the tendency has been for the left flank to see much more of the action). 

Player focus: David Turnbull

While he may have stolen the headlines with a brace against FK Jablonec on Thursday, Turnbull followed that up with a different type of performance against the Jambos, though he was no less effective.

It was a well-rounded display from the former Motherwell man as he won a game-high 85 per cent of his 13 total duels (including three of four defensive duels and five of six offensive duels) while making 11 recoveries (eight in the Hearts half). The latter figure is almost three times as much as his average over the past five matches. 

David Turnbull's total actions map versus Hearts

In addition, the 22-year-old provided his usual creative threat with a game-high three through balls (all accurate), four deep completions and, in another match-best total, five shot assists as his recent acclimatisation to what is expected of him in Ange Postecoglou’s system continued impressively.