Celtic seem to have well and truly returned to their goalscoring ways. After putting six past Hibernian at the weekend, they scored four times against Motherwell away at Fir Park in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final. Liel Abada was at the double while Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi found the back of the net as well.
Abada deserves particular praise for his performance on the day. Once again, Celtic had been wasteful in front of goal and it was looking like they were going to head into the break goalless before the Israeli international put them ahead in the 44th minute of the game.
Then he would get the second for the Hoops as well, with a wonderful strike and had a hand in Hatate’s goal too, who for his part, showed some magical footwork in the box.
And one has to feel like Abada deserves to be getting more chances moving forward than he has gotten this season till now, based on how well he has done.
Celtic player proves he deserves more playing time after starring against Motherwell
According to stats from Transfermarkt, Abada has started just four Premiership games for Celtic this season.
On the other hand, while he has started twice in the Champions League, on neither occasion did he last past the break. In one game, he was subbed off at half-time and in another one, he was forced off the pitch with an injury in the first half itself.
Yet, Abada’s second goal vs Motherwell was his 8th strike of the season, which just goes on to show how effective he is in front of goal.
Yes, he can be frustrating at times, but when he is on his game, he is a brilliant asset to have and his record in the final third of the pitch speaks for itself.
Abada is exceptional at being in the right place at the right time. He just has that natural instinct of a striker despite being a winger. And Celtic could do with that, especially right now, when goals have been hard to come by.