Martin O'Neill's selection gamble for Wednesday night's Premiership clash with St Johnstone paid off...just. The Bhoys managed to overcome their hosts thanks to Mika Baur's second-half tap-in, with the midfielder turning home Haissem Hassan's low cross.
But the Saints had a huge chance in the first half, which Sam Johnstone had to tip over, and the game was not a pretty watch. Celtic, who remain faultless in the Premiership, looked more fractured than usual, and that came as no surprise given the number of changes made by O'Neill.
Celtic pull through despite clunky performance
Johnstone got his first start in goal, while Dane Murray came into the defence, Oliver Sorensen started over Benjamin Nygren in attacking midfield, Kasper Hogh came back in for Camilo Duran after his injury, and Sebastian Tounekti was a forced introduction following the loss of Yang Hyun-jun to the Asian Games.
Celtic got the job done, but they struggled to fully control the game, and they lacked a clear system, at times. We have largely seen a Hoops side that understands the system it plays within so far this season, and while O'Neill has hinted at changes when all of his attackers are available, he will have noticed too many players straying out of position in this one.
At the end of the day, Celtic managed to rest a number of players ahead of Sunday's Old Firm and still get the job done, so it is a fantastic result, but whether he says it publicly or not, O'Neill will have wanted a little more discipline.
Line official has a nightmare
Celtic were robbed of a clearly legal goal in the second half, which will drive fans crazy after VAR controversy over the weekend.
Hogh kept the ball in with a header to set up Haissem Hassan for a goal, but it was ruled out for the ball going out of play. VAR couldn't overturn it, but the replay clearly showed the ball had not gone out.
A few minutes later, Hogh was given offside after racing through and putting the ball into the wrong side of the side-netting, and while VAR could have corrected that mistake had it been scored, replays showed it was onside by a full yard, or maybe even two.
Fortunately, Celtic still managed to pull off the win despite the poor decision, and had they failed to, the disallowed goal would have been a much bigger controversy. The Bhoys will still be expecting an apology for the discomfort the disallowed goal caused them on the night.
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