5 Hits & Flops from Celtic’s hard-fought 2-1 win vs Aberdeen
HIT: James Forrest
Another man who has not been at his best over the last few months. There have even been calls for the veteran Celtic winger to be dropped at times. And although it is undeniable that he has not been as good as he was earlier in the season, there is no one better than him at right-wing to be honest.
He struggled in his wing-back position today as well but he seemed a lot like his in-form self after reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which clearly suits him better. It was he who created the winner after going on a mazy run that left 4 or 5 Aberdeen defenders for dead before putting on a plate for Kris Ajer.
Yes, neither Ajer or Forrest were great throughout the game. But they combined to get all three points. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
FLOP: Leigh Griffiths
Griffiths has been on a career revival of sorts since returning from the winter break. The striker has rediscovered a lot of his old self although he still is not back to where he was when he was the undisputed best striker in all of Scotland.
Today though was not a great day for him. He did have a hand in Celtic’s first goal but then he undid all of that hard work by leaving Ash Taylor completely unmarked in the box, leading to Aberdeen’s equiliser. And he did not offer much up top either, often bullied in the air by the opposition defenders.
His presence in the team depends on Lennon sticking with the 3-5-2 formation. That is a hard thing for the manager though as he has to leave the likes of Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi on the bench in order to do so. Thus, performances like this from Griffiths will only make his job easier.