Has 'lethal' Liel Abada made unignorable Celtic starting case?

Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate were among those at their sparkling best in the record-breaking display which earned Celtic the biggest competitive away win in the club’s history.

Liel Abada was also in red-hot form in the history-making victory, marking his first start of the season by matching Kyogo’s first-half hat-trick with a treble of his own in the second half as Celtic racked up the goals which consigned United to their worst-ever home defeat.

With the recent signing of Sead Haksabanovic intensifying competition for places in the wide areas further, the dynamic Israeli winger made his case for more regular inclusion from the start ahead of some huge games for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

It wasn’t just his second-half goals either, Abada also had a key role in several scintillating attacks, of which there were many on Sunday.

Here, we break down the moments which may well have played Abada into a starting spot for those massive games in the next few weeks…

Pass to Jota (14 mins)

It didn’t take Celtic long to get the breakthrough at weekend. Early goals have been a hallmark of this Celtic side in the early weeks of the season and Abada made his first key contribution to the game in the build-up to the early opener.

Picking up a knockdown from Reo Hatate in the middle of the pitch, Abada showed excellent vision to spot the run of Jota on the left, taking just one touch before sliding the ball in behind the Dundee United defence to release the Portuguese winger.

The through ball was perfectly weighted, allowing Jota to play a first-time pass across the face of the United’s goal which found Kyogo in the box. The Japanese striker did the rest, as he so often does, to open the floodgates at Tannadice.

Assist for Kyogo’s third goal (45+1 mins)

With United on the ropes towards the end of the first half, Abada laid on Kyogo’s third goal of the half which extinguished any lingering hope the home side had of making anything of the game.

Here, Abada demonstrates his explosive pace to get on the end of an outstanding first-time lofted ball by Matt O’Riley in the second phase of a Celtic corner.

Bursting from the edge of the box to the corner of the six-yard box in the blink of an eye, Abada shows great technique to cushion a controlled first-time pass across for Kyogo, who is perfectly placed, yet again, to tap home and complete a first-half hat-trick.  

Pass to O’Riley (45+5 mins)

An extended period of added-on time at the end of the first half, due to a nasty head injury picked up by Joe Hart at the start of the game, gave Celtic further opportunities to pile on the agony before the break.

And they would do just that, with Abada playing another key role in the build-up to a fourth goal before the interval.

Drifting in off the right into a more central position, Abada moves into and then holds, a position on the edge of the box. Receiving the ball from Josip Juranovic in a wide right position, Abada shapes his body to allow him to play in O’Riley with a first-time pass off his left.

The English midfield maestro then fizzes a ball across to Jota at the back post to stroke home his third goal of the season.

Goal (50 mins)

Despite an assist and a key role in another two goals in the first 45 minutes, Abada was far from done. The Israeli was only just getting started and just five minutes into the second half, he got in on the goal act himself.

Another flowing Celtic move down the left got Jota into a dangerous position in the left half-space where he executed a brilliantly weighted reverse ball to O’Riley, splitting the United defence once again.

As O’Riley moves to get on the end of Jota’s ball, Abada is already starting to make a trademark out to in run from the back post area.

Timing the run perfectly, Abada gets across the front of the United’s Scott McMann, attacking the front post to get his left foot on O’Riley’s pull back for his first of the game and Celtic’s fifth.

Something we have seen from Abada throughout his Celtic career, his ability to burst in behind and get in between the posts from the right is a huge threat.

That threat might well be something that comes into Ange Postecoglou’s thinking ahead of his team selection for the derby on Saturday, particularly given Abada’s previous at Celtic Park back in February.

Third goal (77 mins)

Abada profited from a Dundee United defence that had now totally crumbled to tap home from a Hatate cutback for his second on the hour mark before completing his hattrick in style in the 77th minute.

Substitute Daizen Maeda was the provider for his hattrick goal, latching onto a great ball over the top from fellow sub Aaron Mooy before swivelling to turn the ball across for the Israeli who was acres of space at the back post.

With both the United goalkeeper and defender closing in as the ball reaches him, Abada showed brilliant composure, lifting the ball into the net with a delicious chip shot.

In terms of the numbers behind his man-of-the-match performance on Sunday, Abada’s five shots registered a total xG of 2.14 (0.43 per shot), the highest of any player on the park.

His key role beyond just those second-half goals was also summed by his incredible 4.64 xG Chain, the metric from Statsbomb which measures possession chains, and the xG of shots that result from them, giving credit to players for the attacking contributions they make outside of shots and assists.

He was the most active player in the opposition box on the park on Sunday too, with a total of 14 touches in the Dundee United box.

Conclusion

Celtic’s performance at Tannadice at the weekend was full of stunning passing, sublime movement, and ruthless finishing, with Abada at the heart of so much of it.

There were moments where his passing did let him down or when he went in behind too early and was caught offside. There were also examples of where his decision-making could still improve, such as when he choose to go for a goal in the first half when a square ball might have been the better option.

Abada still made a compelling case for a starting place in some of the big games that Celtic have coming up in the next few weeks though.

It is also worth remembering that he is just 20 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to polish those other aspects of his game too.

This is ultimately what makes Abada so exciting, he offers so much in the present with the prospect of even more to come in the future.