Valle debut verdict, Palma under spotlight: Four things we learned as Celtic beat Falkirk.
After a thrilling 5-2 victory over Falkirk at home on Sunday afternoon, Celtic advanced to the Scottish League Cup semifinals.
John McGlynn’s team stepped up with genuine belief to take the lead in the game twice, making the Bhoys work for their victory.
Adam Idah scored twice in a minute following the break to turn a 2-1 deficit into a Celtic lead, after Paulo Bernardo had tied the score at one goal in the first half.
The game’s last goal came from replacement Nicolas Kuhn, who raced past a high defensive line to finish brilliantly in a one-on-one situation before smashing home another from the edge of the box.
To their credit, Falkirk gave Celtic their best game of the season. Well done, Bairns. In the end, though, it was the home team that proved they were worthy of a spot at Hampden.
Following the ninety minutes, these are the main talking topics.
Adam Idah comes up big to show his Celtic worth
It has been a big week for Idah. After scoring his first goal of the season against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League, he showed his true worth to the Bhoys today.
His price tag has put more expectation on his shoulders but he continues to demonstrate he is a viable rotation option to Kyogo Furuhashi.
With less than thirty minutes remaining in a cup competition, Celtic was behind. The striker, who loves big moments in big games, stepped up to lead the way and banged in a quickfire double. He possesses the proper qualities.
Alex Valle makes his debut
Greg Taylor was replaced at left-back by the Barcelona loanee, who had an hour to prove himself. However, the 20-year-old actually had a difficult time playing for the entire hour before being replaced.
Although he did set up Bernardo’s goal with a headed assist, he appeared uneasy throughout, both on and off the ball.
Alfie Agyeman, the winger for Falkirk, gave him a really tough time, and the inexperienced player was unable to establish himself in the game.
Although it’s far too soon to draw definitive conclusions about whether or not he will be a good fit for Celtic this season, it appears he still has some work to do to reach the necessary standards.
It’s far too early to make firm assessments about his suitability for Celtic this season but it seems he still has a fair bit of work to do to get up to the levels that will be required.
He now knows what those levels are and hopefully he can rise to the challenge as a young, developing player.
All new signings need time to adapt and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do in a full-strength Celtic eleven. With Luis Palma in front of him today, he didn’t have the kind of support that Daizen Maeda would have provided ordinarily.
The signs aren’t good for Luis Palma
Luis Palma was also handed a significant opportunity today. Although the Honduran international began the game on the left flank, it’s safe to assume that supporters won’t be lining up for another starting role anytime soon.
In the last third, he was unable to muster any inspiration, and overall, he appeared to be well behind the calibre of players like Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn.
His form from his first few months at the club has vanished, and he now has a legitimate objective to change the course of his Celtic career.
Palma is undoubtedly capable. That was evident in the previous season’s Champions League. But he simply doesn’t mesh well with Rodgers’ current system for running his squad.
Nicolas Kuhn is the real deal
With his influence as a substitute, Kuhn altered the rules. The German assumed responsibility for bailing out Celtic, when the other four players failed to show up within an hour.
His electric presence pinned Falkirk in place, giving them a speed and penetration they were unable to handle. His two goals and two assists proved to be the crucial difference in performance that Celtic needed to win tonight.
With five goals and six assists in his first eight games this season, the German is fast becoming as one of Rodgers’ key players. Seeing where he goes from here will be interesting.
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