After a fiery win over nearest rivals Rangers, Celtic have moved ever closer to securing their eighth Scottish Premiership title in a row.

Current Hoops boss Neil Lennon and the Celtic faithful can take a lot of heart from their winning display at Parkhead. The team battered The Gers in the first half and managed to regain their composure as well as their lead in the second half as Rangers became a bit stronger in the second period.

For me, the biggest takeaway was the outstanding performances from young stars Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard.

At the back, Ajer remained strong and resilient throughout. 

As the more experienced Dedryck Boyata made his all too familiar slip ups and errors, Kristoffer Ajer gave a defensive masterclass. Even when Boyata hobbled off with an injury and left The Hoops with a man short at the back, you’d not have noticed given the fact that twenty year old Ajer still remained a rock in front of goalkeeper Scott Bain. 

The Norwegian’s performance was typified with two standout moments.

In the first half, he skilfully dribbled beyond three opponents before playing a nice ball forward to an attacking teammate. As the Gers defence used the ball like a hot potato, Kristoffer was unflustered and finding teammates for most of the game. 

Then in the second half as Rangers pushed full pelt to score another equaliser, The Light Blues managed to create another opportunity. It looked like Joe Worrall would tap in the ball before Ajer excellently lunged in and diverted the ball wide. 

At the other end, twenty-one year old striker Odsonne Edouard gave an equally mature performance in attack. 

As Gers hitman Alfredo Morelos lost his discipline and failed to connect with anything other than Scott Brown’s face; Odsonne would expertly hold onto the ball, come deep freeing space in behind and playing off passes to teammates. 

The young Frenchman’s movement constantly caused the Gers defence problems and he turned Worrall inside out before lashing home the first goal of the game. 

As the game neared it’s end, Edouard would latch onto a Callum McGregor pass in Rangers half. He would keep his cool before laying it across to James Forrest to find the game’s dramatic winner. 

Hoops manager Neil Lennon has already stated how impressed he’s been with Edouard since arriving back at Celtic Park (Source – The National):

“I’ve been really pleased with his contribution,”  

“He has really good skills. He’s come up with some really important goals. I’m pleased with his progress and I’m sure the club are as well. But there’s more to come from him. He’s only 21.”

Personally I think Celtic can now count on both Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard to become cornerstones of their team for next season. 

They might be young but they’ve got the talent to become top performers, especially in the big games. They’re definitely the type of stars Celtic need as they start to seriously think about going for nine in a row! 

Posted on April 1st, 2019 by scott
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