Kilmarnock gave Celtic a sucker blow yesterday as they were unable to cross the finish line with three points at home.
Yogo Furuhashi’s superb header put the Bhoys ahead on 32 minutes, but they failed to take the lead and were punished.
As the second half progressed, Brendan Rodgers’ team seemed to fade further, but David Watson’s late goal at the back post gave the visitors a point.
Although the Irishman stated that he thought “there was still a long way to go” in the Scottish Premiership race, many Celtic supporters found Saturday’s outcome to be sobering.
Time is of the essence for the defending champions to demonstrate that they have what it takes to top the standings once again, especially with the financial incentives offered by the new Champions League format.
To make these dreams a reality, there are just 12 games left in the league; however, Rodgers’ team will need to improve quickly.
In any case, the Hoops will have a week to process their setback before heading to Fir Park on Sunday, where Motherwell will be waiting for them.
Derek McInnes encapsulates Celtic’s dismal performance.
To be honest, it would be difficult to argue that Kilmarnock didn’t earn a point against Celtic on the day, especially considering that they had a greater number of shots on goal and huge opportunity creation throughout the course of the ninety minutes [Fotmob].
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Derek McInnes, the visiting manager, made some remarks regarding his team’s performance in Glasgow, and one of them was a harsh critique of the Bhoys’ dismal showing.
“We had to suffer a little bit in terms of possession in the first half, but we felt a little bit hard done-by by the fact we go in 1-0 down,” McInnes said [BBC Sport]. Nevertheless, even though they had a lot of possession, we preferred to have a lot more of their players in possession.
The 52-year-old hasn’t specifically mentioned any Celtic players that he would have like to have the ball on a regular basis, of course, but Rodgers’ team’s tedious, slow ball movement did leave a lot to be desired.
Now, Celtic must decide whether to swim or sink.
Now that their competitors are wrapping up in Perth later today, Celtic may find themselves in second place. It’s sink or swim time for them.
Positively, important players like Alistair Johnston, Reo Hatate, and Cameron Carter-Vickers still need to recover from injuries before then. But, even with all of them playing for the first team, this season hasn’t exactly been easy.
If Rodgers can’t consistently get a tune out of his side, this tendency of weak performances will have more serious consequences in the future.
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