Celtic Player Ratings v Livingston


A below par Celtic performance saw the Hoops fail to grasp an opportunity to go top of the Scottish Premiership for the night and fans were left disappointed with the performance and result. Let’s get into the player ratings. 

Joe Hart - 6/10

Joe Hart had relatively nothing to do today which is testament to Livingston’s game plan to sit in. 


Anthony Ralston - 8/10

The right back got into some great positions, made crosses and helped Celtic towards a clean sheet. Ralston seems unstoppable at the minute. 


Cameron Carter-Vickers - 7/10

Celtic’s American centre back was relatively solid yet untested. Carter-Vickers though was unable to follow up on his goal midweek with another this afternoon. 


Carl Starfelt - 7/10

Starfelt clocked up another fifty eight minutes before being subbed off through injury. It is unclear whether or not the Swede will be available for Celtic’s Europa League trip to Ferencvaros on Thursday. 


Josip Juranovic - 6/10

At least in the aftermath of the game, question marks remain over why Josip Juranovic did not take Celtic’s penalty; the Croatian has a one hundred per cent record from the spot in his time at Celtic. Juranovic was fairly quiet however in the ninety six minutes he played.  


Nir Bitton - 6/10

Bitton played in his natural position for around an hour before being moved to centre back due to Carl Starfelt’s injury. The thirty year old brings a calmness to the midfield however I believe Bitton lacks the energy and vitality to succeed in an Ange Postecoglou time. 


Callum McGregor - 6/10

Playing in a slightly advanced role, Callum McGregor played the full match. The Celtic captain though excels when in the number six role, controlling the game. The Scot will continue to be a stick on in the Celtic midfield throughout the season. 


David Turnbull - 6/10

The former Motherwell midfielder wasn’t his usual self today. Turnbull seemed hesitant to shoot from range and didn’t create as many chances as we’ve come to expect. The presence of Tom Rogic was undoubtedly missed against a physical Livingston side. 


Liel Abada - 5/10

In his fifty eight minutes on the park, Liel Abada was eerily quiet. The twenty year old was rarely involved after starting for the first time in eleven days. 


Giorgos Giakoumakis - 4/10

Since I’ve been writing Celtic player ratings, I don’t think I’ve ever given someone as low a rating as four. Might this decision be influenced by the heat of the moment? Probably. However, Giakoumakis’ movement wasn’t the greatest yet the quality of the chances created for the Greek weren’t of the best quality either. The twenty six year old’s penalty was also below par, to say the least. 


Jota - 6/10

Jota started at left wing but came off after playing around twenty minutes on the right. The Portuguese was unable to create and had relatively no opportunities. 


Substitutes 

Ange Postecoglou seemed to throw the kitchen sink at Livingston by introducing all of Kyogo Furuhashi, Mikey Johnston and James Forrest. Neither were able to make a substantial impact on the game. The return of James Forrest though will surely be a welcome one to Celtic moving forward. 


Celtic will now head to Hungary during the week for a crucial Europa League group tie against Ferencvaros, knowing a win will secure European football after Christmas. Such a result could galvanise the support and get the Hoops back on track ahead of a trip to Dundee next Sunday. 


Thank you for reading this article. If you have any thoughts or opinions, leave a comment below. Also, my Twitter is @Josh_Footblog where likes, re-Tweets and follows are all greatly appreciated. 

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