Moussa’s the past, Griff is the now and Edouard the future but Hoops need £9m man to dazzle again
Kid has to rediscover the form that saw him destroy Rosenborg last time out
EIGHT weeks ago, it nestled in the bottom corner. Last night, it rattled against the fingertips of a keeper and then a post instead of the net. Same goals, almost the same time just before half-time – same Rosenborg No.1 in Andre Hansen. But by a crucial matter of inches, a vastly different outcome for Odsonne Edouard. Mercifully Leigh Griffiths was around to get Celtic over the line. But with just two strikers now at the club, both need to be firing on all cylinders. Edouard has huge responsibility to sit alongside a mighty transfer fee on his 20-year-old shoulders and it’s going to be vital to Celtic’s campaign that neither weigh too heavily and pull him down. When the French kid was signed in a club-record transfer from PSG during the summer, it was always with the intention of it being to replace his mate Moussa Dembele. Sure there was a spell at the very embryonic stage of the campaign when it looked as though the pair might end up staying together for a little while longer and operating as a fearsome partnership. But opportunity knocked for Dembele in Lyon just as it had for Edouard in Glasgow and now he’s got the pressure. Some fans were left feeling annoyed at the way their former hero went about it but you only had to watch events unfold at the Etihad Stadium 24 hours prior to the Celtic game to see why someone would fancy going to the Ligue One giants. Dembele’s the past. Griffiths is the now and Edouard’s the future. And Celtic need their new French hitman to explode back to his talented best. When Celtic beat Rosenborg in the qualifiers for the Champions League, that aforementioned first-half effort from him went in the net.
Edouard then went through oneon-one against Hansen after the restart and produced a dink full of composure and class to score a third goal for his team on the night that just about booked progress to the next stage.
Last night’s one-on-one chance finished with a snatch and a ball blazed over the bar.
Edouard’s got the lot. He is a huge talent. But as Celtic struggle to find their fluency at this critical point of the season, they could do with their star finding his form.
There’s only been one goal against Livingston since that Rosenborg double. Injury has played a part in that of course.
Griffiths did what he does. He scored but given he got another warning about his work ethic going into the game from Brendan Rodgers, it seems Edouard may well remain the first pick. He did nothing wrong, he just wasn’t menacing.
By the time the pair swapped places 16 minutes from time, Edouard looked a bit forlorn. Griffiths made up it for it with his explosion of joy.
It was needed. Rodgers had admitted prior to the contest the attacking department was missing edge and aggression and it said much that their most potent offensive weapon at times was Kieran Tierney.
If only they were all like him. It’s hardly fresh news to suggest the kid’s a star but it’s appetite as much as his ability that appeals.
He’s non-stop. Even when it’s slow in other areas, he speeds it up, gets on the front foot. Makes things happen. Time and again he got down the left flank and produced. Time and again nothing came of it until the final seconds of the first period when Tom Rogic and Edouard were denied by Hansen.
Tierney was like a one-man wrecking crew through the first 45 minutes and direct rival Vegar Hedenstad must have needed new lungs at the interval as the ones he started with were worn out.
Others needed to step up. Griffiths did to prevent a 15th opening game in a group stage without a win going back to 2001. Given there had been just five goals in four games over 14 months between the sides, it’s no shock it was tight and the clean sheet was the big bonus. A fifth in a row, coinciding with Dedryck Boyata’s decision to dig his toolkit back out of the cupboard. Filip Benkovic looked strong beside him. The pair took the sting out of any dangerous issues and situations. Celtic may have been plagued by anguish and anxiety as their backline crumbled time and again during their attempts to make it through the qualifiers for the Champions League but it seems they may be a lot more secure now. It’s unusual for the Celtic supporters not to see at least one of their central defensive pairing look as if he’s being electrocuted every time the ball is at his feet, yet the duo are comfortable on it. They win headers into the bargain. Boyata in both boxes, as shown at the winner. There was one first half moment when they slipped and slithered into trouble but, to be fair to them, they recovered the situation themselves. Defensively, with Kristoffer Ajer also around, it does look stronger.