Celtic will have a “problem” with one thing on the pitch this season, according to one pundit after what he's seen from Parkhead.
Celtic form this season
The Hoops, now once again under the leadership of Brendan Rodgers, have made a solid start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, taking 36 points out of a possible 42 to give them an eight-point advantage at the top of the table.
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The Hoops forward was unable to step up with a quality performance on Tuesday night.
ByDan Emery
However, in Europe, Celtic have once again struggled in the Champions League, picking up just one point from five games, and the club have also been dumped out of the Scottish League Cup by Kilmarnock earlier in the season.
Recently, the Hoops have won just one of their last four games in all competitions and actually let a late lead slip against Motherwell at Parkhead.
David Turnbull looked like he won it for Rodgers’ side from the penalty spot before Jonathan Obika headed in an equaliser for the visitors from a corner in stoppage time.
Speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Alan Hutton claimed that it was “disappointing” to concede from a set piece so late on and feels like they are “going to be a problem” as the season goes on.
“It’s something that I did not expect it, at all. On days like that at Celtic Park, you expect them to run all over teams and they did have their opportunities. I just think that if you look at the goal that they conceded – Joe Hart obviously one that was questionable as he was in no-man’s land.
“I think corners and freekicks are going to be a problem for them because they have so much possession meaning teams tend to sit back and be defensively sound before trying to launch a counter.
“They had huge chances but it’s disappointing as there was an opportunity to extend their gap at the top of the league, but unfortunately they weren’t able to do that.”
Celtic defending set pieces
Last season under Ange Postecoglou, Celtic conceded just six goals from set pieces in the Scottish Premiership, the fewest out of all 12 clubs. It was 21% of their total goals conceded, but the Hoops are now under a new manager and brought in a number of new players over the summer.
Therefore, Rodgers may want to look at his side and how they defend comers and free-kicks following last weekend’s late blow. In total, the Hoops have conceded just eight goals in 14 league games this season, one more than rivals Rangers, who have played a game less.
This shows that leaking goals from open play isn’t an issue for Celtic, so set pieces could be the difference as the season goes on, especially with Rangers possibly just five points behind if they win their game in hand.
