Maley's Record In Sight As Celtic March On
Celtic played through Aberdeen’s man for man system with ease, whilst the Dons passing fell short all night. It all added up to 61 not out as Maley’s record moves into view.
Any unfamiliar terms are explained in the Glossary.
Just Like 1982
The Dons deserve credit for matching Celtic’s record over the first 9 games of the season, meaning this was a rare 1st versus 2nd tussle with real import. As I showed in Between Rock, Paper, Scissors and a Hard Place, McInnes has been around the houses trying to figure a way to best the Champions. The man to man marking system deployed in the February 2017 League meeting, and in the Scottish Cup Final in May 2017, had met with partial success. Narrow one goal defeats in both.
It was to this system McInnes settled on here. Two forwards (May and Rooney) were oddly passive, splitting to let Boyata have free possession, whilst the rest of the team played a rigid man orientated marking system. Man-for-man can be flexible in that you pick up a designated player so long as he enters your zone. Otherwise, extreme Claudio Gentile style discipline is required to both man mark your opponent in all parts of the pitch whilst ensuring defensive shape is maintained. It is not common in the modern game although Ntcham played this system under Gasperini at Genoa last season.
Anyway. A Gentile the Dons did not have. Aberdeen failed in this regard. Whilst Shinnie had two long range efforts easily saved in the first 11 minutes, and Celtic had not threatened, the visitors nevertheless seemed comfortable in possession. One of the risks of the Dons defensive system is that it can take relatively few passes for it to unravel. And so it proved on 13 minutes with the opening goal.
Two quick passes from Boyata to Rogic, and Rogic, tightly marked therefore reducing the chance of a block on any pass, to Dembele meant Celtic had a fast break on the Dons defence. There was no cover as defenders were preoccupied with marking, and less concerned with overall team shape. Consequently, Dembele could run unhindered behind the home defence. Tierney was allowed to run off Mackay-Steven to finish emphatically off the cross bar.
Once Celtic were 1-0 up, the pressure is on Aberdeen to attack as the home team. May had another long range, low probability effort on 16 minutes. That was to be the last Aberdeen shot at goal until the 74th minute. With an early lead established, Celtic could be patient and rely on solid passing to await the next opportunity. Whilst Celtic had been restricted to 49% possession on their last visit to Pittodrie, they racked up 71% here.
Celtic continued to periodically threaten, picking off markers with quick accurate passing and movement. “Packing” and “Impect” metrics track this well – they are described in Concerning “Packing”. Celtic bypassed 30 Aberdeen defenders, their highest tally since the 5-0 win over Kilmarnock. Content to keep possession at the back, Celtic could await their chance. The second duly arrived on 38 minutes.
Although the quality of Tierney’s beating of Logan and delivery to the back post are excellent, and Dembele shows desire and strength and pace to arrive at the back post, it requires each player to better his immediate opponent rather than break down an organised defensive system. As can be seen above, Aberdeen were a mess defensively. Any pass would have resulted in a 50/50 in the danger zone.
As you can see from the picture, the last Aberdeen defender is yards ahead of the next. Celtic did not get caught offside once.
Celtic then swapped Bitton from left centre back to central, and Boyata out to the left, meaning the Israeli was the main receiver. He is also a far more accomplished passer of the ball than the Belgian. Bitton lead the team with 76 completed passes, 94 % of all passes were successful. And he broke the Aberdeen lines 10 times, for a team leading Impect Pass score of 52, equal with Armstrong.
When Plan “A” Doesn’t Work, Do Plan “A” Louder!
Incredibly, McInnes made no changes to personnel nor system at half time other than to press higher on Gordon at kick outs. Gordon completed a season high 46 passes.
Despite sparse possession and failure to make connections anywhere on the pitch, and despite the fact Celtic could pick off man markers periodically, the Dons settled into the half as per. The same perils were evident for the home side.
And, 2 minutes later.
The third goal was more prosaic, but nevertheless worrying for Aberdeen being beaten at a simple far post free kick. Armstrong stealing 10 yards on the touchline to take the free kick nearer the goal deserves cheeky credit for fooling the normally punctilious Thomson.
The match had been over at 2-0. Each Celtic attack had been like a counter attack due to the way Aberdeen organised defensively. This results in a higher goal probability as the defence is not “set”. That is, there is disorganisation, with lack of coverage of player and space. This leads to better quality chances. Aberdeen persisted despite the evidence in front of McInnes’ own eyes.
Abject Aberdeen
The Celtic movement and execution for the first 2 goals is probably levels above what other teams in the Scottish league can manage. And credit, especially to Tierney and Dembele, is due. But Aberdeen were poor when compared to the teams Celtic have faced this season.
The Dons completed only 127 open play passes all night. Only St Johnstone, Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock have achieved lower. But it was also the nature of those passes. Only 7% of all passes (10) took out any Celtic players. Bitton matched that on his own. Aberdeen “packed” 3 Celtic defenders, the lowest of any team faced this season. Even Linfield, who are synonymous with Albion Rovers. Aberdeen completed 15 packs for a total team Impect score of 59 which is 46 lower than the previous season low for Hamilton Academical. Even when in promising position, the Dons could not deliver. 0 from 11 crosses found a red target.
The Dons seem fixated with long balls, perhaps expecting Celtic to have a back four with Tierney at left back and the suspect Bitton in the centre. Instead, despite Celtic positioning the tall Bitton, Lustig and Boyata as a back three, Aberdeen continued to pump high balls at the Celtic defence. And they targeted the right side where Lustig won 9 aerial challenges. No side has contested as many aerial duels as Aberdeen against Celtic this season. 45 aerial duels, and Celtic prevailed in 30 of them. This is 7 more duels than any other game including Linfield, the ultimate long ball team.
Aberdeen failed to compete at the most basic level. Celtic won 58% of all challenges. They won 53, which is a season high, beating the 47 won away in Anderlecht.
Creating chances was therefore difficult for the home side. Aberdeen did not manage a single shot in the Celtic box. Celtic managed 14, their fourth highest of the season. Indeed, Aberdeen managed only 7 possessions in the away teams box, compared to 25 for the Hoops. The resulting pressure allowed Celtic 10 shots on target, their 3rd best of the season. Lewis managed 7 saves, with only Mannus of St Johnstone and Carroll of Linfield managing more this season.
Having only 2 long range shots on target meant Aberdeen’s xG (Expected Goals) of 0.046 is the lowest Celtic have faced apart from the four times the opposition have not registered any shots on target.
Celtic normally have players adept at take ons, dribbling past opponents. But the Hoops Dribble Impect Score of 81 is the lowest of the season. Not only were Sinclair and Roberts rested, but there was no need for take ons, Celtic were able to pass through the opponents with ease.
McGregor and Rogic both had Possession Effectiveness Index (PEI%) scores of 92%. This is very high for attacking midfielders normally under pressure and receiving the ball in tight areas. It is a good indication of the ease with which Celtic’s dangerous attackers could find space to operate.
Celtic undoubtedly played with confidence and a ruthlessness to take chances similar to that seen at Dundee in the League Cup, and Anderlecht in the Champions League. I doubt the Dons fans expected such a supine performance from their trail blazing team, however.
Buoyant Bhoys
There wasn’t a bad performance from the Hoops. Some highlights:
Gordon easily saved 2 long ranges shots. He caught 2 crosses and completed a season high 46 passes.
Lustig won 16 challenges and intercepts, 6 more than any other Celt.
Bitton lead the team with 76 completed passes and won possession a team leading 8 times. He had 10 successful challenges and interceptions, and 5 clearances.
Armstrong was once more the overall Pack Man. Recording a 100 Impect score, 21% of his passes took out at least one opponent.
McGregor had the next highest Impect score of 77. He was 2nd in Pack Receives with a 50 Impect score. His Expected Scoring Contribution (xSC) of 0.469 was 4th highest. He created 3 chances, equal best.
Forrest also created 3 chances. He had the 3rd best Expected Assists (xA) of 0.443.
Rogic lost 9 challenges, and 5 possessions, but created 2 chances. He had the 2nd highest CAT Score of 8 (see Top CATs for explanation).
In terms of those that stood out.
Allowed to play “libero” Boyata started the move for the first goal, and assisted the third. Aside from being caught in possession in the 2nd half, he rarely put a foot wrong.
The captain was mainly on defensive duty. Despite this, he remarkably never gave away so much as 1 foul. Caught in possession once to allow an Aberdeen break. Otherwise his normal reliable self, winning possession and distributing safely.
With 1 goal and 1 assist, Tierney enjoyed his day as a left sided wing back. Without his normal buddy Sinclair, Tierney was free to explode into the space on the wide right of the Aberdeen defence.
Bhoy of the Match
Two goals and one assist. Also helped the defence with a clearance. Looks back to his best, with explosive pace and power. Not the man to play 1 on 1 with. His efficiency stands out – all 4 shots in the box on target. He was in possession in the box 8 times, 4 more than any other player. His CAT Score of 16 is a high for this metric.