Celtic instant analysis as Idah saves club's blushes

Idah netted a fantastic 51st-minute equaliser and an injury-time strike alongside a Palma tap-in as the men in green and white rallied to come from behind and seal a priceless three points in a 3-1 win and close the gap to two points. Just when it looked as though the men in green and white looked set to go four points behind Rangers in the race for the Premiership title Idah and Palma struck with a late 1-2.

In a dreadful first-half showing from the visitors it was the hosts who had the better of the defending champions and Theo Bair looked to have given Stewaart Kettlewell's side the lead inside three minutes when he chopped inside Liam Scales who was all at sea and fired home a low drive. However, Motherwell's joy was short-lived when VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out for offside.

Celtic had one shot on target in 45 minutes as Liam Kelly dealt with a Greg Taylor drive easily. It was all Motherwell and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 43 minutes when Lennon Miller squared the ball to Blair Spittal who angled a superb curled drive past Joe Hart. It was appalling fare from Celtic in the first half but they dragged themselves back into the contest six minutes after the restart when Taylor crossed for substitute Adam Idah to head high into the net to make it 1-1.

Hart then pulled off a breathtaking save from Jack Vale's header and Daizen Maeda missed when it looked easier to score. The champions were huffing and puffing and just as the clock displayed six minutes of injury time Idah prodded home from close range to make it 2-1. Palma then added a third as Celtic and Rodgers once again played their get-out-of-jail-free card.

Saviour Aam Idah at the double for Celtic

The on-loan Norwich striker picked a timely moment to score his first goals from open play as he almost single-handedly saved Celtic's and Rodgers's season. What an introduction he had on proceedings as he leapt to head the champions' level on the 51st minute and then showed real Kyogo-like predatory instincts to stab home the clinching goal in injury time. The Irishman made all the difference and was the vital spark that the visitors needed at a critical time. Idah should certainly now be considered to start in every game in the title run-in. He showed a hunger and a desire that was missing from many of his teammates in Lanarkshire all afternoon. Idah's tally now rises to four but his brace could be a pivotal moment in the title race. With 11 games to go Celtic are still in there fighting for this flag.

Shaky Scales

The Irishman was caught out twice in the opening stages by long balls over the top into space behind him. Theo Bair chopped his feet and easily turned him inside out to net with a low drive inside three minutes. However, the assistant's flag saved Scales's blushes after the goal was disallowed for offside which VAR duly confirmed. He was done by another simple ball moments later and it seemed to send him and the defence into panic station mode as they were at the mercy of balls into the box every time. Scales looked positionally suspect on more than one occasion and it was evident that Motherwell had picked him out as a weak link and deliberately targeted his area of the pitch. The 25-year-old also took a real sore one to the head after a high boot from Bair, who was spoken to by referee Willie Collum but the stopper could carry on. He looked cumbersome, laborious and unassured whenever he strode forward with the ball. The purple patch for Scales is well and truly over. At times this season, he has overachieved and played well above his levels but in recent weeks he has looked miles off it in a Celtic jersey. He was bullied by Bair all afternoon. When Cameron Carter-Vickers fully returns to the first-team fold then the centre-back may find that it is he who is relegated to the bench for a stint as he needs to be taken out of the firing line.

A touch of Groundhog Day for 45 minutes as win papers over cracks

It felt like it was going to be the same old story for Celtic. The team looked devoid and bereft of ideas for 45 minutes. The width that Celtic played with in deploying Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn was virtually non-existent in the first half. A Motherwell goal was always coming and the biggest surprise was that it took them until just before the break to take the lead. The manager spoke in the lead-up to this match about playing with intensity and speed. It was the hosts that lived up to that billing in the first half and certainly not the visitors. For Celtic it resembled a disaster movie in slow motion in a brutal first-half display at Fir Park as the performance was utterly shambolic. It was bordering on catastrophic for the men in green and white as they made it 19 halves of football where not only did they not score they never even looked like scoring. It was a completely unacceptable half of football served up by Celtic but not for the first time under Rodgers this season. The second half fightback stirring though it was is papering over cracks.

Rodgers's ragged army does not remotely resemble a team

This Rodgers incarnation of Celtic is not a team. They are not united, they are not together, they are disjointed and ragged. There may well be 11 players in the park but they are functioning like individuals not a collective. There just seems to be no discernible pattern or style of play or communication between the players. It was a match that for the first 45 minutes at least was reminiscent of both the Tony Mowbray campaign and more recently the COVID season under Neil Lennon. It certainly felt like death by 1,000 cuts for this Celtic team. The big question now is does Rodgers have it as a manager anymore? If the Celtic board were to pull the trigger would they be able to attract anyone better for the manager's position? The irony here is that Rodgers is far from the only one at this rate who could be shown the Parkhead exit door. It wasn't hyperbole to state that many Celtic supporters felt that the Northern Irishman was already fighting to keep his job at half-time in Lanarkshire. Idah's intervention has saved the 51-year-old for the time being.