Celtic FC: Top 3 takeaways of October

As October has come, and now almost passed, this Halloween we take a look back on the month and reveal the top three takeaways from this month for Celtic.

The month of October brought Celtic another international break, more Europa League Group Stage matches, and a few days where archrivals Rangers sat atop the Scottish Premiership League table. So, what were the three big takeaways from the month? Let’s get to it!

Celtic now sits alone atop the Group E table

Going into the start of the Europa League Group Stages, many pegged the Hoops as the third best club behind Italian-side Lazio, and French-side Rennes. In classic Hoops fashion, the club defied odds when they travelled to France and snuck away with one point via the draw (in September). They then hosted CFR Cluj in a revenge match that saw CFR Cluj look like a shell of themselves. Now, most recently, the club hosted Lazio, the club who was supposedly the best club in the group. The Bhoys gutted out a tough one, and got out with three points at home. As October comes to an end, the Bhoys sit alone atop the Group E table.

The Hoops struggle against “easier” opponents

Any opponent can win a match on any given day. But when one thinks about the reigning champions and Treble Treble winners, some clubs just are not supposed to give you a tough time. The Bhoys started out the month of October with a loss against Livingston. A match in which Celtic should have won handedly, instead, the loss meant that they fell behind in the table to Rangers. Fast forward to Wednesday against St. Mirren, and once again, the Bhoys had trouble locking down the match in the first half. St. Mirren was allowed to play well above their position on the table. Neil Lennon is going to have to figure out why these lapses are happening against clubs they should be winning against.

Celtic newcomers have shown up and shown off

Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jeremie Frimpong, Moritz Bauer, and now Greg Taylor have all had the opportunity to prove why the Hoops went out and got them in the first place. Arguably the best of the newcomers has been Mohamed Elyounoussi, especially in the month of October with four goals to his name this month. Frimpong has done well, especially for his age. Frimpong was able to get his first goal against Aberdeen last week. Taylor got his first action against St. Mirren and did a great job in his first time on the pitch. Overall, the month of October has been the month of the newcomers, and they have all exceeded expectations.