THE MIDSEASON SURGE: ACSOM'S CELTIC SEASON REVIEW PART 2
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- Jun 4
- 6 min read
Updated: 19 hours ago
ACSOM's Liam McBride continues his season review today, with a look back at November and December. This was an extremely busy period, with a barrage of games that ultimately set the tone for the rest of the Celtic season.
A Cup Win and European Progress the Highlights as Celtic Season Hits the Business End
Now it’s time for part two, where we look back on the key moments in the busy November and December period. From cup glory, to more European action, Celtic’s season was heating up.
November
After two routine league victories, a colossal week awaited Celtic. Firstly, they had a Premier Sports Cup semi-final meeting with Aberdeen and after that, RB Leipzig awaited in the Champions League.
Heading into the semifinal, an illogical narrative was circulating. Since Aberdeen’s draw at Celtic Park, they had remained level in the league table. Just days beforehand, they defeated Rangers by two goals to one, creating a nine point gap above the Ibrox side. Yet, most of their games had been narrow wins.
One could argue that it is a sign of a strong team. However, if you continuously scrape by games, it will catch up with you, it’s a matter of time before your luck runs out. As if to prove this, after the 26th of November, the Dons embarked on a winless run of fourteen games, and their form from that point of the season to matchday 38, was the worst of any team in the league.
Still, the Scottish football world geared up for the top two sides facing off at Hampden.
It was barely competitive. Aberdeen’s defensive line was breached time and time again with the relentless speed of Daizen Maeda, Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn. Celtic were 3-0 up at halftime and heading to yet another cup final under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers.
The third goal in particular was a joy to watch with a dynamic one-touch pass from Reo Hatate in the central area finding Kuhn. The german then released Kyogo who returned the favour soon after. Back on the ball, Kuhn played a perfectly waited pass to break the Red’s defensive line, with the ever-energetic Maeda latching onto it and finding the roof of the net.
It was the first of a hattrick for Maeda, with Kuhn also scoring a stunning fifth goal for the hoops.
Of course, the last time Celtic won 6-0 and then played a German outfit the following Tuesday, it ended horribly. Conversely, this time, the best performance of the season would follow. In front of 60,000 at Celtic Park, under the Champions League lights, Celtic started sloppily.
A Baumgartner header set the visitors in front, and they came a whisker away from a subsequent corner. The Hoops' build-up play was sloppy, with the Leipzig front two often latching onto errors and creating central overloads on the counter. Yet, a big-game moment from Engels and Kuhn would change the course.
Celtic played through the Leipzig structure for one of the first times and found Engels on the right-hand side. Off-balance, the Belgian skillfully chipped a one-time pass to Kuhn.
The winger cut in and curled what seemed to be a cross to the back post, however, it ended up clipping in and off the post to level the game on the night. There was debate over whether he intended the goal.
Only he will know, although it was most likely one of the back post crosses he played so frequently at this time of the season for either Kyogo or Maeda to run onto. Nevertheless, this proved the benefits of crossing into dangerous areas, it can breed chaos. Celtic’s counter-pressing development was displayed in the second goal, with Taylor, Hatate, Maeda and Kyogo all hunting down the Leipzig defence.
It took two attempts, but Taylor regained possession and found Hatate, who played a no-look pass to the on-running left-back, who flashed a pass across the face of the goal which Kuhn couldn’t have missed. That goal turned out to be the second loudest goal recorded in a European ground, and the Scottish Champions were leading at halftime.
Celtic continued to excel in the second half, with Reo Hatate’s strike proving enough to seal the deal. McGregor under pressure passed back to the Celtic defence with Alex Valle drifting into the central area.
Then, a wonderful rotation of positions saw Hatate, Bernardo, Kuhn and Johnston all get on the ball. A goalkeeping error then allowed Hatate to gratefully pounce and strike into the roof of the net. It rounded off a monumental performance in Europe which signified genuine progress.
Two more league games followed, with Celtic far from their best despite comfortable scorelines. A 2-0 win away to Kilmarnock saw somewhat of a European hangover with the home side registering 18 shots on goal. Schmeichel was called into action time and time again, plus Marley Watkins hit the post.
However, a fortuitous effort from Callum McGregor, which he certainly intended as a cross, plus a moment of individual brilliance from Nicolas Kuhn ensured all three points were safe. The following week, despite a poor first half, Celtic left Tynecastle as 4-1 winners with Adam Idah registering a double.
It was a return to Champions League duty with Club Brugge the visitors. After-handedly beating Leipzig, it’s fair to say some of the Celtic fanbase underestimated their Belgian visitors. In the opening stages, the Bhoys started poorly and struggled to compete with the movement and speed of the Belgians.
They enjoyed a lot of space on the right-hand side, with Greg Taylor in particular struggling to contain Andreas Skov Olsen. Yet, Celtic found themselves trailing completely through their own doing, as Cameron Carter-Vickers registered a bizarre own goal before the half-hour mark.
Despite this, their heads didn’t drop, and the second half was more evenly contested. Daizen Maeda scored a fifa-like goal, cutting in and finding the corner from a seemingly impossible angle. Ferran Jugtla thought he had put Brugge into the lead, however a VAR review showed the Spaniard to be marginally offside.
It was a complete reverse to events against Lazio the proceeding season, highlighting that sometimes, luck plays a big role. Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate came close late on but ultimately a draw seemed a positive result considering the balance of the game.
December
Three more league games followed, with three clean sheet wins. The run started with a 5-0 victory over Ross County, with all five goals coming before the break. After this period, Celtic’s performance levels dropped. A windy Wednesday night in Aberdeen required patience as it took until the 78th minute to break the deadlock, with Greg Taylor wonderfully assisting Reo Hatate.
Celtic rounded off the triple-header with a 3-0 win over Hibs. Despite the scoreline, it was less convincing than the previous two victories over David Gray’s men, with his side often able to breach the left hand side of the Celtic defence. Had they been more clinical,they would have walked away with a result. However, Arne Engels and Kyogo had other ideas.
Celtic traveled to Croatia to face a depleted Dinamo Zagreb side in a poor run of form.
The Celts were rather safe in their passing, and despite having the lion’s share of possession, failed to dominate the game. Throughout the ninety, both sides created some decent chances, particularly in the dying seconds with Arne Engels just inches away from finding Adam Idah. Overall though, another point in the Champions League was nothing to be ashamed of.
The following weekend, the first Cup final of the season awaited, with Rangers the opponents. The first half saw little football played from either side. Rangers sat back while Celtic failed to break through their defensive structure. However, a sloppy pass from Taylor to Bajrami sent Rangers through to take the lead.
Celtic responded well in the second half, as Taylor making amends with a similar equaliser to the goal he scored in the 2022 Scottish Cup Semi-Final. Daizen Maeda fired the Hoops into the lead soon after. However, soon after, it turned into an unorganised basketball match. Diamonde equalised before Nicolas Kuhn thought he had won it late on, but more lacklustre defending allowed Danilo to bring the tie to three each.
An uneventful extra time meant that the sides could only be split by a penalty shootout. Ultimately, Ridvan Yilmaz’s missed penalty was all that split the sides. Yet again, against their fierce rivals, Celtic found a way to win when it mattered.
The following week would bring Celtic’s second draw of the season, with a stalemate away to Dundee United. It was ultimately a dull ninety minutes, in less than ideal weather conditions. Having said that, Kyogo and Engels both had excellent chances late on.
For around a month now, Celtic’s performance levels had considerably dropped in comparison with the start of the season. Yet, that is to be somewhat expected. If you look back throughout the seasons, the Winter period can be a bit of a slog, with two games a week the norm. It’s all about digging in.
Nevertheless, Celtic rounded off the year on a high, with two 4-0 wins against Motherwell and St Johnstone. There seemed to be a renewed fluidity to the side, with Arne Engels in particular excelling. Kyogo was also resembling himself more, with two goals in the latter match. With Rangers struggling on the other side of the city, Celtic sat comfortably at the top of the table, with another Glasgow Derby on the horizon.
