Celtic reclaimed their seven-point advantage at the summit of the Scottish Premiership table today after brushing off Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle in a comprehensive 4-1 victory.
Brendan Rodgers put out a side at a notoriously difficult away venue that was able to dictate the flow of the encounter and pick off their opponents at will, with goals from Matt O'Riley, Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata ensuring that the Hoops return back to Glasgow with another three points in the bank.
Hearts did fight back a little in the second half, though to no avail, as a consolation strike from Lawrence Shankland gave the home side a glimmer of hope to cling on to for a brief period of time. However, Celtic battered Hearts, truth be told, showing a ruthless streak that will breed confidence ahead of a busy run of fixtures.
Without further ado, we at Football FanCast take a look at how the visiting players performed in their first instalment of action since returning from the international break.
GK: Joe Hart – 7/10
All things considered, Hart wasn't called upon often during the clash, which was a testament to his side's ability to control the narrative in both boxes for pretty much the entirety of proceedings. Nevertheless, the former England international handled himself well and could do nothing to stop the hosts' superb consolation.
RB: Alistair Johnston – 8/10
Johnston's performance may go under the radar in some quarters today. However, the Canadian right-back brought a ferocious energy down the right-hand side and regularly overlapped Daizen Maeda to provide extra width for the visitors. Since arriving in January, Johnston has emerged as an extremely shrewd buy for the Scottish Premiership champions.
CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers – 8/10
Dominance is a usual feature of Carter-Vickers' displays at Celtic and today was no different, as the 25-year-old routinely won his duels against whoever he came up against.
CB: Liam Scales – 7/10
Scales has risen to prominence this campaign and his heel-turn from having one foot out of the exit door to becoming a regular starter is quite something. In truth, the Republic of Ireland international barely put a foot wrong once again and can be proud of his exploits.
LB: Greg Taylor – 7/10
Never shy of a hard graft, Taylor stuck to his task down the left-hand side and played a key role in Tomoki Iwata's fourth goal, demonstrating composure to play in Oh Hyeon-gyu before the ball eventually broke to the Japanese midfielder.
CM: Callum McGregor – 7/10
McGregor is the heartbeat of the Celtic midfield and continued his consistent form this campaign with a tiresome performance in the Hoops' engine room, setting an example to his teammates once again.
CM: Matt O'Riley – 9/10 (Man of the Match)
You'd run out of superlatives to describe how good O'Riley has been for Celtic this term. The Dane got the scoring underway with an excellent volley early on before having a big hand in the second and third strikes. Emerging as the first name on the teamsheet for Rodgers, expect some huge goal-contribution numbers from the former MK Dons man by the end of 2023/24.
CM: Reo Hatate – 8/10
Despite missing a penalty, Hatate was involved heavily in almost everything good Celtic did today and deserves a big round of applause for his overall display.
RW: Daizen Maeda – 8/10
Netting the second, Maeda showed some expert movement befitting of a natural striker to get himself onside and sweep home Hatate's ball across. The 26-year-old has really come into form for the Hoops over the last few games.
LW: Luis Palma – 7.5/10
Registering an assist for O'Riley's opener and potentially for Furuhashi's clinical finish, Palma had another efficient afternoon in Celtic colours and his influence is growing week-on-week in this side.
ST: Kyogo Furuhashi – 7/10
Potent as ever, Furuhashi wasn't leaving the field today without getting himself on the scoresheet and he duly took his chance when it came along, sweeping a left-footed effort from close range by Zander Clark.
Substitutes
Bernardo for McGregor – 6/10
Iwata for Hatate – 7/10
Yang for Maeda – 6/10
Palma for Forrest – 6/10
Furuhashi for Oh – 6/10
Manager: Brendan Rodgers – 9/10
