Celtic have done a wonderful job through the course of the campaign and already have the League Cup and Premiership in the bag, and will be vying for the Scottish Cup next month when they take on Inverness CT. At the same time though, one cannot overlook that their recent performances and results have not been anywhere near the mark.
With their recent 2-2 draw against St Mirren, Celtic have now won only one of their previous four games in the league. That is simply not good enough.
One area where they have struggled badly is their defence. Without Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston, two nailed on starters, Ange Postecoglou has had to find ways at the back. Unfortunately, none of the combinations have really worked till now.
Carl Starfelt is a regular starter for Celtic. But without Carter-Vickers beside him, he does not seem to be anywhere near his best right now.
Celtic starter slammed for his recent performances
As reported by Football Scotland, Alan Rough said on PLZ Soccer:
"“Starfelt looks lost without Carter-Vickers there. He looks all over the place and I don’t know what he was trying to do at the second goal. He never even challenged the header.”"
There is no doubt that Starfelt has struggled at the back without Carter-Vickers, who he has been partnering with for the past two seasons. At the same time though, it would be a major mistake to put it all on the Swedish international.
The fact of the matter is that the entire backline has struggled in the absence of the two starters. Now, it remains to be seen how they cope with the issue moving forward in the upcoming games.
Carter-Vickers is not going to be back this season, having undergone surgery recently. On the other hand, there is still hope that Johnston can make it back in time to feature in the Scottish Cup final against Inverness CT next month. Before that, the club still have two more league games to play.