Celtic moved nine points clear of Rangers last night, as they defeated Dundee 2-0 at home in the Scottish Premiership.

Brendan Rodgers’ much-changed side had chances in the first half but failed to take their opportunities, as the visitors looked to sit in and soak up pressure. It would take until the 59th minute before Celtic made the all-important breakthrough, as Alistair Johnston tapped home Yang Hyun-jun’s deflected cross just minutes after coming on as a substitute. Five minutes later following a counter-attack, Kyogo Furuhashi was brought down in the box by Juan Portales, which prompted the referee to point to the spot. Arne Engels stepped up and scored the subsequent spot-kick, as Celtic sealed the win midway through the second half.

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

Key stats + race chart

The basic statistics in this game show that Celtic completely dominated proceedings, with 2-0 potentially being a misleading scoreline as the home side should have won more comfortably, given the chances they created. Indeed, an accumulated xG of 4.17 with just two goals scored indicates that Celtic underachieved in this contest, failing to make their 79 per cent possession and 24 shots (five on target) count. With 838 passes attempted at a 90 per cent success rate, Celtic did everything right on the ball, but their finishing was off on the night.

When observing the race chart – which takes into account xG totals with the chances created – Celtic pulled away from their opponents early doors, though they only made that advantage pay after the restart. Because of these chances created, StatsBomb gave Celtic a massive 99 per cent chance of winning this contest, giving Dundee no hope of a victory and only a one per cent chance of drawing the match. Dominance in every aspect apart from the scoreline concerning the home side.

Formation + passing 

As is normally the case, Celtic lined up in a 4-3-3 formation for this match. Kasper Schmeichel remained in goals, while Cameron Carter-Vickers returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League last month alongside Auston Trusty for the first time in central defence. It would not be the only return in defence, as Greg Taylor replaced Alex Valle on the left, while Tony Ralston started ahead of Johnston on the right. In midfield, Paulo Bernardo sat deeper, supported by Luke McCowan and Engels, while Kyogo led the line – joined by Luis Palma and Yang on the left and right wings respectively.

The passing network gives us a rough idea of where the game was played and who was effective on the ball using OBV (on-ball values). A reminder that the warmer the colour, the more influential the game the player had in possession. Interestingly, Engels, Palma and Yang all showed up pretty well in this metric, despite being poor on the eye in person when observing them. Trusty also had a good game according to this statistical data – a viewpoint backed up by his overall performances recently at the back for Celtic. 

What is clear is that Celtic were working the ball out wide to the likes of Palma and Yang, though their end product was largely wasteful when in possession. Again, Kyogo looked isolated in this game when observing the passing network – he needs to be more involved in the build-up play, and then clinical when chances come his way.

Statistically, Engels had an outstanding game in this metric, as his 60 passes scored him 1.19 – a season-high for Celtic – in OBV. Yang and Palma had 0.55 and 0.43 respectively – both good scores in their own right. Bernardo, Kyogo and McCowan all had negative OBV totals in this one.

For key passes, Engels and Palma led the team with four each, while Yang and Taylor contributed two. Kyogo had one to his name, also, showing that Celtic made opportunities in this match, though their finishing was largely wasteful on the night.

Shooting

One encouraging factor of Celtic’s performance on Wednesday night was the volume of close-range chances that the home side carved out. Indeed, Yang, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo had opportunities from a few yards out – the criticism being that they did not make the most of these chances when they came their way.

Usually, you would associate prolific right-backs with the other side of the city, but Alistair Johnston has caught the goalscoring bug for Celtic this campaign. He would break the deadlock, passing the ball to Yang before motoring into the box where he got on the end of the South Korean’s deflected cross, beating Jon McCracken in the process.

Johnston’s chance was calculated as 0.30 in xG, though it rose to 0.60 following the Canada international’s connection with the ball from close proximity. His fourth goal in the league this season, the right-back is the joint-second top goalscorer in the Premiership – a new weapon for Celtic to utilise out wide.

Six minutes after Johnston’s opener, Engels would step up and slot home his spot-kick with ease, side-footing the ball down the middle of McCracken’s goal as the Scotland call-up guessed wrong.

0.78 to 0.88 from xG to PSxG, this high-probability chance was taken full advantage of by the Belgium international, who scored his third penalty in all competitions this campaign. A trusted dispatcher of spot-kicks is the 21-year-old. 

Kyogo will be kicking himself after this one, as he generated 1.33 xG from his six shots at goal, making him Celtic’s top shooter on the day. McCowan and Engels both had five to their name, while Palma had four in 60 minutes of play. Second-half sub Maeda managed one, a high-scoring xG chance that he squandered during injury time. Thankfully, it didn’t affect or alter the end result.

Defending

As is expected when Celtic control proceedings, Dundee pressured the home side at a higher quantity than Rodgers’ side at a difference of 114-180 in favour of Tony Docherty’s side. Despite this, they regained the ball off the back of pressures just one more than Celtic, at a rate of 29-30.

McCowan led the way for pressures with 19, as well as five counterpressures – a joint-high with Palma and Engels. Kyogo and Engels had 17 and 14 respectively concerning their own pressing game, the latter doing a lot of work off the ball despite having a quiet game on it.

Defensively, Trusty and Maeda led Celtic with combined tackles and interceptions, albeit at a lower total of three each. Trusty managed three clearances and five aerial duel wins, while Scales had two and three of his own in these metrics.

Final thoughts

It was very much ‘job done’ for Celtic on Wednesday night, as they picked up the three points required to keep pace with Aberdeen, who secured an impressive 2-1 win over Rangers at Pittodrie.

Of course, they play Jimmy Thelin’s high-flying Dons side on Saturday night in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden, though the dynamics of that game will be unique as it is a one-off tie in a neutral venue.

Nine points clear of Rangers before November is a good position to be in for Rodgers’ team – time will tell if Aberdeen can keep up with Celtic’s title charge towards a fourth consecutive league title.