Even better than Jota: Celtic star was the real hero for Rodgers

Celtic strolled to another fairly comfortable victory in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday as they swept Dundee United aside with a 3-0 win at Parkhead.

The Hoops are now 16 points clear of Glasgow rivals Rangers in the table, ahead of their game on Sunday, and are heading towards a fourth title in succession.

Brendan Rodgers will be delighted with the way that his team controlled the game and kept trying to add to their tally, with 21 efforts on goal in total.

The Northern Irish head coach should also be pleased with the performance of Jota on the wing, after he made his second start in the Premiership this season.

Jota’s performance against Dundee United

The January signing from Rennes, returning to Parkhead for a second spell at the club, lined up on the left flank, with Adam Idah central and Hyun-jun Yang on the right.

Jota, who had produced a goal and an assist in his first two league outings, found the back of the net again with a terrific curling effort, after cutting in onto his favoured right foot.

The former Benfica dynamo also showcased his creativity from the left flank with four key passes and one ‘big chance’ created, although his teammates let him down with their wasteful finishing in front of goal.

Celtic’s wing wizard was far from the only impressive performer for the Scottish giants on Saturday, though, and captain Callum McGregor was the real hero for the Hoops with his display in the middle of the park.

Callum McGregor’s performance against Dundee United

The former Scotland international was selected at the base of the midfield three for the Bhoys, with Japanese whiz Reo Hatate and Luke McCowan picked ahead of him.

McGregor was the real hero for Rodgers on Saturday with his tempo-controlling performance. Whilst Jota produced a moment of magic with his goal, the midfield maestro was integral to the entire display with his use of the ball.

The left-footed ace also scored, arguably, the most important goal of the game by breaking the deadlock with an excellent strike. He carried the ball into the box under pressure and reversed his finish into the bottom corner of the near post to make it 1-0.

As you can see in the table above, McGregor was the standout star in midfield with his play in and out of possession, as he dominated the opposition off the ball and provided a metronomic presence with the ball at his feet.

These statistics show that the club captain was the real hero, over Jota, for Rodgers as both players scored a goal but it was the experienced maestro who was integral to everything that Celtic did on the day.

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The Celtic head coach must be delighted to have a player, in McGregor, who can provide such security on the ball as well as being reliable out of possession to ensure that the team puts in a dominant performance.