Goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Greg Taylor and Jota meant that Celtic walked out of Almondvale Stadium with a 3-0 win over Livingston and their four-point lead over the Rangers in the Premiership table intact. The Hoops have had their issues there in the past and it is great that that was not the case on this occasion, as they got a relatively comfortable win over David Martindale’s side.
Postecoglou must have been delighted with the result, just days after seeing his side’s European hopes go up in smoke, following the 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk at Parkhead, which confirmed that Celtic would finish bottom of their group.
Livingston had their issues going into the game as well and could only name four fit outfield players on the bench, with Isma Goncalves only there to make up the numbers for Martindale’s team.
And Martindale has admitted that it was hard not to be envious of the options that Celtic had coming off the bench. As reported by The Scotsman, the Livingston manager said:
"“I turned around to [assistant manager] Marvin [Bartley] and said, ‘look at their substitutions’. It’s not bad.“Isma could have done five mintues for me if I needed it, but he shouldn’t really have been on the bench.“There was four fit players that I could change the game with, but I still thought we were competitive in terms of the starting 11 we put out, albeit we had eight bodies missing today.“I don’t think that had anything to do with the game, but when you look at Celtic’s bench and the players they are bringing on, I was a wee bit envious. Financially they are miles ahead of where we are.”"
Martindale makes admission about being envious of Celtic’s bench
It is safe to say that Celtic definitely had some quality to bring off the bench vs Livingston. Jota came on and scored. The likes of Giorgos Giakoumakis, David Turnbull, Liel Abada and Oliver Abildgaard got minutes as well. Four of those players have played for their national teams.
So, it is safe to say that there was very little comparison when it comes to the bench strength of the two sides.
Yes, it is true that there is a huge financial gulf between Celtic and Livingston, but that is just how things are. The Hoops have to come up against the same gap, when they go up to the UEFA Champions League and face teams like Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.