Celtic restored their nine-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership thanks to an emphatic second-half showing at St Mirren on Sunday.

Mark O’Hara’s early penalty had given the hosts a shock lead but they then had Charles Dunne sent off for hauling down Kyogo when he was bearing down on goal.

Stephen Robinson’s side did manage to hold the lead until half-time but Jota levelled early into the second period before goals from Alistair Johnston, Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley and Oh Hyeon-gyu sealed the points in style.

Although Celtic were always likely to create opportunities against a tiring 10-man St Mirren in the second half, Ange Postecoglou’s introduction of Abada at half-time played a key role in ensuring the Hoops fully capitalised on their numerical advantage.

Abada, Celtic’s most-used substitute in the league this season (18 appearances from the bench), produced a dazzling 45-minute display, scoring one, assisting one and also having a key involvement in another.

Here, we break down how Abada’s introduction helped swing the game Celtic’s way...

First touches (45 mins)

Neither of Celtic’s starting wide players, Daizen Maeda and Jota, managed to affect the game much in the opening 45 minutes with the former making way for Abada at the break.

Although Jota had swapped sides with Maeda in the first half for a period, the switch allowed the Portuguese winger to stick to the left with Abada taking up his natural position on the right.

It was evident that getting the ball into the newly introduced Abada was one of the instructions from Postecoglou and his coaching staff during the interval with the Israeli winger involved within the opening seconds of the half.

Immediately taking up a position wide on the touchline, Abada was fed the ball by Cameron Carter-Vickers.

In this initial involvement, he started to drive at the St Mirren backline before combining with Aaron Mooy as they progressed the ball up the right side. On this occasion, the move broke down, but it was very much a sign of things to come in the second half.

Abada continued to pull out into wider areas in the opening minutes of the second half, stretching the St Mirren defensive line, as Celtic funnelled play down his side.

At times he would drop slightly to start his runs from deeper. With St Mirren sitting in an even lower block with 10 men, this allowed Abada the space to get up to speed with the ball under little to no pressure.

From there, his willingness to drive at defenders gave the hosts a new problem to deal with.

Jota's goal (55 mins)

It was his direct running off the ball that played a key role in the equaliser though.

As Johnston picked the ball up in a wider area, Abada attacked the space between St Mirren’s outside left centre-back and left wing-back, who had jumped to press Johnston.

Once he received the ball in behind from Johnston, he then showed great awareness to play a reverse pass into Mooy, who also attacks the space in the box well, to cross for Jota to squeeze in under Trevor Carson in the home goal.

Goal (70 mins)

Johnston’s back-post finish from a Mooy free-kick then put the Hoops in front before Abada made his mark again to finish the match as a contest.

Again, initially pulling out in a wider area to receive from Johnston, after the Canadian full-back drove towards goal, Abada exchanged passes with Mooy, before then drifting back into a more central area. 

After receiving the ball back from Mooy, Abada’s close control and explosive change of pace allowed him to burst past St Mirren midfielder Keanu Baccus inside the box.

From there, he produced a trademark ruthless finish across Carson into the far corner to end the match as a contest.

Assist (72 mins)

The Israel international then turned provider just minutes later. Once again pulling wide out from the congested central areas, he picked up possession on the edge of the box and, again, immediately drove at the St Mirren defence.

Standing up Joe Shaughnessy, he drove the centre-back back into the box before lifting the ball through a packed box to find fellow substitute Matt O’Riley who finished unmarked from the edge of the six-yard box.

Another great piece of attacking play from Abada, and his third key involvement in a goal in less than 30 minutes, it capped a devastating cameo display from the Israeli.

StatsBomb data

The numbers behind Abada’s display in Paisley were just as impressive.

As mentioned, Abada’s positive and direct ball-carrying was a big feature of Celtic’s second-half performance.

In total he had 37 carries in his 45-minute display, not losing possession following a single one of them, highlighting his key contribution in helping wear down St Mirren.

The quality of his end product is also highlighted in the match data. He had the joint most shots (three) with Mooy and Jota but boasted the highest open-play xG (0.56) of any player on the park, despite only playing one half.

He also registered the second-highest open-play xG assisted (0.47) – only Mooy accumulated more than Israeli on that front (0.78).

Conclusion

Abada provided the quality in front of goal we have come to expect from him in the second half in Paisley on Sunday.

His ability to keep stretching the St Mirren backline, coupled with his pace and directness when he was on the ball, gave an already tiring home side no end of problems.

Equally impressive about the young winger's dynamic display was his link-up play and some of his decision-making in and around the box, parts of his game which can at times let him down.

Ultimately, his display was yet another example of Celtic’s enviable squad depth – Abada has only started nine league games this season but he’s still managed to contribute 10 goals and five assists.

Should Celtic indeed go on to secure back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles, then the impact of those coming off the bench to make big contributions, such as Abada in this game, will be worth a special mention.