Kasper Schmeichel saves the day as 3/10 teammate loses 60% of his duels - Celtic player ratings vs Falkirk

Celtic came away with a vital 1-0 win in a hard-fought clash against Falkirk on Wednesday as Benjamin Nygren’s first-half goal sealed all three points.

Falkirk‘s Kyrell Wilson wasted a brilliant chance to open the scoring in the 23rd minute as he skipped past Kieran Tierney and around Kasper Schmeichel, but blazed his shot over the crossbar.

The hosts continued to pile the pressure on O’Neill’s side, but it was Celtic who took the lead just before the break as Nygren nodded Arne Engels’ corner home.

Celtic thought they had doubled their lead just after the interval, but the goal did not count as Daizen Maeda was adjudged to be offside before Auston Trusty netted.

Schmeichel came up with the goods late on as he denied Falkirk’s Ethan Williams from close range, and the Hoops sealed the points with a 1-0 win to stay in the title race alongside Hearts and Rangers.

Kasper Schmeichel – Man of the match

Schmeichel has been slammed by Celtic fans for his performances this season, but he was key to their victory on Wednesday as he made numerous strong stops to keep Falkirk out.

The veteran keeper was equal to all six shots that the hosts struck on target throughout the clash, and his biggest save came in the 81st minute as Williams thought he was about to level the scores.

He found himself one-on-one with Schmeichel from six yards after a pass found its way into his path due to some poor defending, but the Celtic stopper got down low to keep the ball out.

It was a rare moment of class on a tough night for the Hoops, and even though Celtic have been planning to sign a new goalkeeper, O’Neill may well think twice about such a call after this top showing which earns him an eight out of 10.

Captain Callum McGregor let the game pass him by in midfield

McGregor is usually a reliable operator for Celtic in the middle of the park, but he was rash and let his midfield opponents get the better of him all night at the Falkirk Stadium.

The 32-year-old was passive when trying to close down the hosts’ midfielders, and he often failed to find an attacker, with just two of his six long balls ending up with a Celtic teammate.

He won just two of his five ground duels in a rare off-night by his standards, as he is given a three out of 10 rating, and was certainly lucky to avoid a booking as he scythed Louie Marsh down while he broke forward late on.

McGregor has been backed to leave Celtic soon as Brendan Rodgers eyes him up to join him in the Saudi Pro League, and more performances like this will certainly mean many supporters would not be too bothered if he did depart.

Celtic’s player ratings in 1-0 win vs Falkirk

• Kasper Schmeichel – 8
• Julian Araujo – 6
• Auston Trusty – 7
• Liam Scales – 6
• Kieran Tierney – 6
• Arne Engels – 6
• Callum McGregor – 3
• Benjamin Nygren – 7
• Hyun-jun Yang – 5
• Daizen Maeda – 4
• Sebastian Tounekti – 5

Substitutes:

• Luke McCowan (on for Yang 66′) – 6
• Reo Hatate (on for Tounekti 66′) – 6
• Johnny Kenny (on for Engels 79′) – 6

The post Kasper Schmeichel saves the day as 3/10 teammate loses 60% of his duels - Celtic player ratings vs Falkirk appeared first on Football Insider.