Opinion: Mix and match Celtic deserve credit for 450 goalless minutes
In all competitions, Celtic have kept five clean sheets in a row, which means that the Hoops have gone 450 minutes without conceding a goal.
Even though some people might think that is to be expected of Celtic as the Hoops are the best team in Scotland, the Bhoys still deserve credit for the consistency they have shown in not conceding goals, and also for the fact that the Bhoys have kept the clean sheets without having some of their best players available.
In the five games, the Hoops were without Cameron Carter-Vickers for two of them, and without Greg Taylor for four of them, which meant that Yuki Kobayashi had to make his debut for the Bhoys, and Alexandro Bernabei had a run of games in the first-team as well. Alistair Johnston and Josip Juranovic both played games at right-back too.
It couldn’t have been easy for the Hoops players in defence with the changes that had to be in defence, as the only players who featured in all five games were Joe Hart and Carl Starfelt, but it is testament to how well-drilled the Celtic defence is that the Hoops have managed to keep the clean sheets in three different competitions, and as a result are in the League Cup Final, the last 16 of the Scottish Cup, and are still nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
The return of Greg Taylor and Cameron Carter-Vickers to the Celtic starting line-up for the win over Dundee United means that Celtic’s first choice back four and goalkeeper are all available for selection once more, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Ange Postecoglou make a few changes in defence, especially as the Hoops have two games to play in the next six days.
It might be too much of expect Taylor to play in all three games, so Bernabei might well return to the side, and the same is true of the just returning Carter-Vickers, Kobayashi is a candidate to feature in the side if the Celtic manager wants to make a change.
Celtic’s clean sheet run will inevitably come to an end at some stage, perhaps because of a wonder goal, but if the Hoops defence keeps playing as well as they have been recently, then there is no reason why the clean sheets can’t continue, as they lay a foundation for the attacking players to build on.
Perhaps the Hoops defence doesn’t get as much credit as it should, and that in a way is understandable, but the Bhoys wouldn’t be in the position they currently are if it wasn’t for the back four and goalkeeper.
