Player By Player Scottish Cup Final Review

Celtic secured a double Treble with a 2-0 Scottish Cup triumph over Motherwell. I take a look at each individual players’ performance. How did your favourite do? The Glossary gives a shine to all silverware reflecting back with radiance any terms that are unfamiliar. Craig Gordon The one selection dilemma – to bring back the previously injured veteran, or persist with Bain, who had not done much wrong. Gordon has done well on the big occasion – his wonder save from Moult at 1-0 in the League Cup Final proved pivotal as Celtic scored a second shortly afterwards. There was a similar moment here in the 48th minute when Main found a shooting opportunity wide of the 6 yard box and Gordon was extended to tip it over. Getting back to 2-1 so soon in the second half would have given Motherwell momentum. It was a competent save and the most difficult of the 5 saves he had to make. The other 4 saves were all caught comfortably. Those 5 saves had an xG of 0.462.

Gordon saves from Main on 48 minutes

He caught 4 crosses from the 14 Motherwell attempted. Only 1 connected with a ‘Well player. The Steelmen had two forwards and throughout the game forced Gordon to kick long. Consequently he connected with 15 of 21 open play passes, and 5 of 9 set piece passes. However, on 3 occasions he connected with Dembele and once with Armstrong using long passes that took out 15 Motherwell players overall. A comfortable and competent performance. Mikael Lustig With Celtic lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, Lustig was stationed to the right of the back three. In many ways this formation suits Lustig. Not relied upon to provide width nor pace on the right, his use as one of three defenders covering two physical, aerially capable strikers played to his strengths. Motherwell persisted launching long balls into his channel. According to the Scotsman Motherwell have the one of the best cross success rates in the League but were successful with only 1 from 14 here. Consequently Lustig won 9 out of 13 aerial challenges, more than his centre back partners combined. In total he won 13 challenges, losing 5. His Defensive Action Success Rate was 72%, behind only Ajer. Lustig led the team with 8 clearances as Celtic “out cleared” the opposition 37-28 displaying a safety first approach having built an early lead. He won possession back 8 times, also the highest of any Celt whilst only losing it once. The other benefit of having Lustig play in one position from right full back is that he has more space and angle to play his long passes. Three times he found Rogic and three times Dembele with long passes that took out a total of 20 opponents, for a Pass Impect score of 31. This was 3rd highest of the day. In total he completed 44 passes and gave it away 13 times. Whilst not contributing to the attacking third, I believe this right sided centre back role represents Lustig’s optimal position now. I had him as the top defensive performer on the day. Dedryk Boyata Boyata played as the centre of the back three until Ajer went off when he was pushed out to left centre back. Bowman and Main competed well with him and he only won 5 out of 9 challenges. Effecting 6 clearances, the Belgian won possession back 3 times, giving it away once. He completed the 2nd highest number of total passes (49) @ 92% accuracy. 6 of those passes were Pack Passes that took out a total of 14 opponents. He connected with Ntcham twice. A solid defensive performance. Kristoffer Ajer Played 76 minutes before hobbling off for Simunovic. Stationed as the left centre back, Ajer had an uncertain first half. Twice he misread the flight of the ball leading to Motherwell danger. Main skied a good chance after 5 minutes and Cadden’s on target shot resulted after 26 minutes. They were not golden chances, totalling 0.172 xG. Such errors are uncharacteristic for the young Norwegian. But it should be remembered this is his first Cup Final having been on the bench for the League Cup clash with the same opponent. After those errors, he settled down to his usual game, recording a Defensive Action Success Rate of 80%, the highest in the team. He won back possession 5 times, relinquishing it once and cleared it 6 times. Ajer completed 2 of his characteristic up field charges, taking out 7 opponents. He also had one shot on target from a corner on 65 minutes. Settled down to normal form after a shaky start before injury forced him off. James Forrest Stationed as a right wing back, Forrest lost 5 of 8 challenges but won possession back 2 times. He was the least utilised of all the attacking players being involved 5% of the time. Completing 26 passes @ 87% he created one chance for Rogic after 31 minutes. He completed 2 dribbles and had 1 shot at goal, although it was a reasonable chance on the counter attack after 55 minutes back screwed his shot wide trying to reprise his League Cup Final opener. Only Dembele achieved more possessions in the box (6). Overall he was the most subdued of the attacking players but kept Tait pinned back in the first half effectively. Scott Brown Lined up with Ntcham against three combative opponents (McHugh, Campbell and Grimshaw) this was not the archetypal Brown performance. Averaging 72 completed passes @ 94% accuracy per 90 minutes over the season he completed 40 @ 82% accuracy here. Only in 4 other matches has he given away as many as 9 passes – he won’t want reminding three of those were versus Heart of Midlothian. In the League Cup Final against the same opponent, Brown completed 97 passes and did not give away a single one! So Motherwell effectively constrained his influence, even forcing a turnover in the 80th minute that led to Birgirimana hitting the bar from a free kick that was effectively the Lanarkshire team’s last chance. But only Lustig won more than his 10 challenges and intercepts but he did lose 6. Effecting 5 clearances, Brown was central to keeping a lid on a persistent 2nd half showing from Motherwell. He won back possession 7 times but gave it up 2 times. Averaging Usage Rate of 11% this season he only accounted for 8% of Celtic’s actions here. He wasn’t totally shackled and completed 2 dribbles and managed to create one chance. Not the driving force he has been this season and that late turnover could have led to a nervy finish. Credit to the rest of the team for coping with a leashed captain. Olivier Ntcham His 25th minute goal kept Motherwell at arm’s length for the remainder of the game, allowing Celtic to exert control and avoid the need for over commitment in attack. The shot took a telling deflection off the heel of Kipre causing the ball to accelerate and spin right into the corner. His subsequent tumbling celebration provided one of the iconic images from the game.

25 minutes Ntcham makes it 2-0 and the celebrations begin

Outside of that, Ntcham had a similar game to Brown. Neither dwelled on the ball too much preferring to get the ball to Rogic and McGregor, whom in tandem with Dembele, gave Celtic a 3 on 3 in the final third. He completed 47 passes @ 92% accuracy. Of those 7 were Pack Passes and he led the team with a Pass Impect of 37. The highlight was releasing McGregor in the first minute. He connected with McGregor for 4 of those 7 forward passes. His goal was his only shot of the match. His overall contribution to the attack outweighed his defensive contribution. Winning 4 of 11 challenges he won and lost possession 3 times. But he led the team with overall Total Impect of 73, being the 3rd highest forward pass receiver with 10 passes collected, 3 from Ajer. Celtic did not dominate possession for long periods, preferring to get through the lines quite quickly to force back the Motherwell wing backs and apply pressure to their back three. As such this was not a dominant midfield performance from Nthcam, but as often this season, he led the team in breaking the opposition lines, capped with the goal that made the last 65 minutes of game largely a celebration for the green and white masses. Kieran Tierney The three times Young Player of the Year was given a more explicit left sided attacking role with reduced defensive responsibilities. He did have arguably Motherwell’s most effective attacker, Cadden, aligned against him. A cursory glance at the passing stats might suggest a profligate performance. His pass completion of 70% was the joint lowest of the team (Dembele) although he completed 44 passes. However 3 of his 19 failed passes were attempts to feed in Dembele for goals after half time and 2 more were unsuccessful crosses. He connected 3 times with McGregor and 2 times with Armstrong for effective forward passes scoring 22 for Pass Impect creating 1 chance. He completed 3 successful dribbles, equal best with Rogic. Although he did not have any efforts at goal he managed to gain possession in the box 4 times. Most Motherwell danger came down Tierney’s flank and Cadden led them with 3 Pack Passes, 2 Receives and 1 Dribble. On target efforts from Cadden and Main followed. Tierney’s defensive stats are always coloured by his attacking style meaning he is the recipient of more challenges than he dishes out. He won 7 of 11 challenges and intercepts and won possession back 4 times losing it once. Arguably his best contribution was covering behind Boyata in the 80th minute so that when Boyata fouled Cadden following Brown’s mistake, it was a not a “last man” foul and the Belgian picked up only a yellow card. A good battle with Cadden down the flank, and restricted their young winger well. Tom Rogic The 3-4-2-1 formation deployed here seems to suit Lustig, Tierney, McGregor, Rogic and Dembele. For Rogic he can pull out mainly to the right without leaving a yawning gap in the 10 space where McGregor is always preceptive in finding that space. With the World Cup Aussie having signed a new 5 year deal there was high expectations of delivery – in the pub I was in he was nailed on first goal scorer! He did not create a chance for any other Celt, and only had 1 shot on target from 6 efforts, 3 were blocked. But he did complete 3 dribbles and led the team with 9 Pack Passes connecting across the team. Rogic also received 8 forward passes, 3 from Lustig as he found space between the Motherwell midfielders. All this meant he led the team with 20 Pack events – i.e. passes, receives or dribbles that took Celtic forwards and opponents out the game. He only got in the box with possession 4 times with 4 of his shots being outside.

Celtic first chance as Rogic shoots wide on 6  minutes

His Expected Scoring Contribution (xSC) was 2nd highest on 0.499 before making way for Armstrong. He had an effective but not outstanding game. Callum McGregor Another Hampden right footed goal and one simultaneously of great beauty and chillingly effective execution. McGregor revelled in an advanced attacking midfield role behind Dembele and to the left of Rogic. This allowed him to link with Tierney which the pair did 5 times with Pack Passes. He could also join with Ntcham effectively to link the play in a floating role but centred on an inside left position. He led the team with 54 completed passes @ 86% accuracy. 6 passes were Pack Passes and he also completed 1 dribble. Overall he led the team in creating 5 chances for a total Expected Assist (xA) of 0.694, the highest of the day. His goal was one of only two shots but he had the second highest Receive Impect score of 45 taking control of forward passes from Ntcham 4 times and Tierney 3 times out of 11 forward passes received – the joint highest. He had the second highest Total Impect of 67, the second highest CAT Score of 11 and an Expected Scoring Contribution of 0.954, also the second highest. He even won 4 out of 9 challenges and interceptions and won back possession 3 times, losing it 5. McGregor has played many positions this season but this one really suits him. He works hard enough to give the team defensive shape without the ball as shown by his adequate defensive stats, whilst having the freedom to be the “space interpreter” in the half spaces between midfield and attack. A blossoming talent. Moussa Dembele Dembele has a reputation as a big game player and he didn’t disappoint. Most impressive was his ability to take and control a variety of passes from all angles and heights thus taking the team up field. He received 11 passes that took out opponents and 6 of those were long balls from Gordon and Lustig. Given the pressure on Gordon and the press from the two Motherwell forwards, Celtic needed to execute the long ball accurately to avoid losing possession. Dembele was the perfect outlet for this. He still had a battle with the Motherwell back three and lost 11 challenges out of 13 as well as giving up possession 9 times recovering it once. He even led the team conceding 3 fouls! Dembele set up the Ntcham goal taking the ball once again back to goal, under pressure, and was patient as Ntcham showed intelligent movement to position himself for the shot. He also set up one other chance, for Rogic. It wasn’t his day in front of goal despite leading the team with 7 shots, 6 inside the box. Only 2 were on target, with Carson pulling off a spectacular save from a close range header and saving well with his feet from the follow up. Overall Dembele had xG of 1.309.

71 minutes and save of the match by Carson from Dembele's header

He had the second highest Total Impect of 71, and the highest CAT score of 13. Also, his xSC of 1.433 was the highest of the match. A consummate example of centre forward play. Stuart Armstrong A typically energetic cameo as a replacement for Rogic on 72 minutes. He connected with all 12 passes he attempted, 3 of which were material forward passes and created one chance. Jozo Simunovic Came on for Ajer on 76 minutes. Was tidy winning both his challenges / intercepts and winning possession back twice. Completed 6 passes. Scott Sinclair Given the last minute and added time. Bhoy of the Match Lustig’s was the most effective defensive performance but the Bhoy of the Match came down to McGregor or Dembele. For me McGregor just gets it due to the quality of his goal. Had Dembele scored, he would probably have pipped it. McGregor was also my Bhoy of the Match in the League Cup Final and has been so three times in matches against Motherwell this season.

McGregor's 11th minute wonder strike