Celtic 2 (Turnbull 24, Griffiths 61)
Ross County 0
Frimpong and Christie got Celtic's assists.
Celtic had an NP xG of 2.35 while Ross County's was NP xG of 0.33, which was the lower again than last week's which was the lowest since September.
Celtic had 25 shots with 7 being on target. Possession was 67% with 832 touches (most touches since mid September). Celtic had 10 corners and touches in the box were 36. Total Passes were 631 (best since Sep) with a Passing accuracy of 87%. Celtic had 20 crosses. Possession in the final third was 35% (best since mid Sep) and Celtic passes in the final third were 234.
Christie was man of the match due to his stats. Christie had 1 assist, 4 shots, 72 touches, 49 passes, 78% pass rate, 5 touches in the box and 5 tackles won out of 6 attempted.
Duffy was dropped with Frimpong coming in, Soro came back in for Brown, Laxalt came back in for Taylor and Christie came back in for Elyounoussi. Celtic went to a new formation again and this time went to a 442diamond. Forrest was still unavailable.
Celtic lined up with;
- Hazard
- Frimpong, Jullien, Ajer and Laxalt
- Soro
- Christie, Turnbull and McGregor
- Edouard and Griffiths
Johnston, Ajeti, Ntcham and Rogic came on as subs with Ntcham getting his first appearance in 5 after previously being an almost ever present.
Key note - Celtic's defensive performances improved dramatically when Taylor was brought back in after 13 matches yet he was dropped again. Opponents NP xG was only 0.33 but was this down to Celtic (and the diamond) or Ross County's ineptitude ? Also this was Griffiths's first start of the season (and he scored).
