Celtic MVP shines again to shoot timely reminder to Hearts and Rangers - player ratings and report
Match report and how we rated the performance of each player as Celtic beat Falkirk 2-0 at Celtic Park
Celtic fired a timely reminder to their Scottish Premiership title rivals as they moved into second place in the Scottish Premiership with a 2-0 win over Falkirk at Celtic Park.
Goals from Tomas Cvancara (39) and Benjamin Nygren (62) saw Martin O’Neill’s men take full advantage of Rangers’ slip-up at Hibs as they secured a crucial three points in the east end of Glasgow. Leapfrogging their nearest rivals on goal difference, the win also keeps the pressure on Hearts, who are six points clear at the top of the table.
Forced into changes due to Auston Trusty’s suspension, O’Neill brought young centre-back Dane Murray into the starting XI, with January loan signings Julian Araujo and Cvancara also returning to the team after missing the Europa League win over FC Utrecht in midweek due to ineligibility.
It was the visitors who almost took the lead early on when Barney Stewart saw his goal-bound header parried away by Kasper Schmeichel. Celtic’s first sight of goal came shortly afterwards, with Araujo's excellent long ball finding Hyunjun Yang in the area, though the South Korean could only fire straight at Scott Bain.
However, just as the home support’s frustration was becoming more audible, Cvancara headed home his first goal in the green and white hoops since his arrival from Borussia Monchengladbach, connecting to Kieran Tierney’s superb cross, before strong combination play from Callum McGregor and Nygren early in the second period saw the Swede blast home his 12th league goal of the season and seal a deserved win.
A big midweek now awaits in the title race as Hearts face St Mirren on Tuesday night, while reigning champions Celtic head to Pittodrie to take on Aberdeen 24 hours later.
Here’s how we rated the performance of each Celtic player in the 2-0 win over Falkirk:
Schmeichel 7, Araujo 8, Murray 6, Scales 6, Tierney 7 (Welsh N/A), McGregor 6, Engels 5 (Tounekti N/A), Nygren 8, Yang 7 (Forrest 6), Cvancara 7 (Hatate 6), Maeda 5 (Iheanacho N/A).
Star man: Benjamin Nygren - He’s quickly morphing into Celtic’s MVP with his simply outstanding goal tally. Has his detractors, but 12 league goals from midfield in early February is a phenomenal return. Continued to probe throughout, and just seems to be in the right place at the right time consistently.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.