Celtic's dynamic duo analysed after solid campaign start

Celtic, too, are no strangers to this dynamic, as their history – both in recent times and further back – has been littered with mutual understandings that have benefitted the team. Billy McNeill and John Clark built up a formidable defensive pairing back in the 60s, while the forward talents of John Hartson, Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson are still heralded to this day. Recently, the likes of Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes have been celebrated as an attacking coalition, along with the much-needed solidity of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt under previous manager Ange Postecoglou.

This season, however, there has been a sudden emergence of a couple of new partnerships, which have excited those of a Celtic equation. Indeed, the centre-back pairing of the aforementioned Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty has been brief, but the all-American duo look to be very solid at the heart of Brendan Rodgers’ defence – though at around £13.5 million combined, you would expect this. 

That’s not the partnership that’s going to be discussed, though, as an extremely fruitful right-sided pairing has formed at the club in the shape of full-back Alistair Johnston and winger Nicolas Kuhn. Johnston was signed under Postecoglou after the 2022 World Cup, while Rodgers acquired Kuhn from Rapid Vienna in January of this year.

Both are having stellar seasons in their respective positions, as Celtic sit at the summit of Scottish football – level with Aberdeen -, as well as picking up seven points from their opening four games in the Champions League. At the time of writing, Kuhn has a whopping 21 goal contributions so far this campaign (10 goals, 11 assists), while Johnston has nine (four goals, five assists) – not bad for a defender. 

While the two players have linked well with other players such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels, it has been the pair’s partnership with each other that has caught the eye of many, thanks to their understanding of spacing and timing concerning their runs and movement. In light of this, here are three instances this season that prove the pair are forming a strong bond on the right flank…

Johnston (Kuhn) vs St Mirren

Though Kuhn will make up the majority of these goals concerning putting the finishing touch on a Johnston delivery, their first link-up this season was the exact opposite. This came against St Mirren in Paisley, as Celtic ran out 3-0 winners away from home. Their third on the day both started and finished at the feet of Johnston, as he found himself just inside of the opponent’s half. Taking a central role akin to an inverted full-back, the Canadian spotted Kuhn on the wing, and sprayed the ball out to his German teammate. Kuhn has his head up, and is waiting to receive the low pass to his feet…

A few seconds later, Kuhn had the ball in a dangerous area, with the in-form winger in a perfect position to attack. Not content with allowing his winger to do all the work himself, Johnston made the late run from behind into the box, where a sizable space was opening up in the St Mirren defence.

This understanding between the two right-sided players was why the next phase of this particular play was so devastating for Stephen Robinson’s side just a few moments later...

Kuhn allowed his teammate to run into the box, before delivering a low pass to the player who did the same just a couple of seconds prior. His delivery was a good one, allowing Johnston to stab the ball home from relatively close range – though the finish was an excellent one.

This was the first glimpse of a special partnership forming between the two wide players, though it would not be the last this season – so far!

Kuhn (Johnston) vs Ross County

You could argue that the last goal was the most well-worked between the pair, but the next two were just as devastating – as the same end result transpired. Having gone behind to a Ronan Hale penalty, Johnston’s deflection off of Callum McGregor’s shot got Celtic back in the game, with the visitors to Dingwall chasing a late winner to snatch all three points from the contest. Step up Johnston and Kuhn to do the business…

This time, the passage of play started from Celtic’s own half, as Johnston had spotted Kuhn waiting to receive his delivery again. With tired legs and minds at the Global Energy Stadium, it was time for the right-back to force the issue late on.

Playing a cutting pass through the opposition’s midfield and wide players, Johnston had taken a number of Ross County players out of the game, with a late surge into the box happening in the shape of Celtic’s number 10…

Despite being fed a delicious ball by Johnston, his teammate had a lot to do in this position. He took the ball on himself even with others around him, cutting into the box before unleashing a low and accurate strike from just inside the box – leaving the impressive Ross Laidlaw with no chance in the Ross County goal.

In truth, this was the moment when supporters and critics alike started to take notice of this new partnership. The earliness and accuracy of Johnston’s through-ball, coupled with the direct and devastating style of Kuhn, as well as the lateness of the goal all merged together to make a quite stunning goal move from start to finish.

Kuhn (Johnston) vs Kilmarnock

Once might be a coincidence, two you could call a fluke, but three times this season is why this article exists in the first place. Indeed, Johnston and Kuhn’s link-up for Celtic last time out versus Kilmarnock was just as important as the other two instances, particularly because Celtic were under the cosh at 1-0. With Kasper Schmeichel pulling off a number of big saves to keep their side ahead, it was time for the deadly duo to sink the proverbial dagger into Derek McInnes’ side at Rugby Park…

Beginning in an almost identical area to the previous goal, Johnston again spotted his fellow right-sided player on the move. Instead of a low-ball, he instead elected to go for a looping cross to Kuhn, who was being heavily marked at this point by the Kilmarnock defender. The winger knew that he was in business if the ball was perfectly weighted directly into the space ahead of him – thankfully, it was.

Thanks to both the artificial surface’s impact on the ball’s trajectory and the run by Kuhn, Celtic were through on goal after one long ball forward. The two men marking the winger were behind him, leaving the Celtic player a massive favourite to manoeuvre into a dangerous position for his side.

Johnston understood that if he could place the ball into an area where Kuhn could run into, then a goalscoring chance could likely occur. With the winger’s pace both in and out of possession, you could almost hear the alarm bells going off in the defenders’ heads when Kuhn got in front of them. We all know what happened next…

From close range, Kuhn managed to slot the ball past Robby McCrorie and into the back of the home side’s net, even though Maeda and Kyogo were waiting for the tap-in nearby. A goal that Kuhn would not have scored last season, the confidence in the winger was clear to see by all those in attendance, as he made light work of Kilmarnock on the fast-break.

Of course, this goal would not have been possible without the quick thinking of Johnston in his own half – without this direct style, Celtic may not have been able to get in behind the home side again, leading to a potentially nervy finish in Ayrshire.

Quick, direct and devastating – Celtic’s right side had struck again.

Conclusion

With three goals combined between this duo, it is clear that there is a growing understanding between this new and exciting duo on the right-hand side. 

Though Kuhn and Johnston also work well with their other teammates, this seems to be a partnership that is only going to improve as the campaign continues. If both can stay fit for Celtic’s next block of fixtures, then this article may well be outdated in a short space of time.

If that means more goals, then here’s hoping that very well ends up being the case…