Rodgers must drop Idah to unleash Celtic’s “tenacious” 5 ft 11 star

Celtic are back in action once again in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon they travel to Fir Park to take on Motherwell in the lunchtime kick-off.

The Hoops moved to five points behind Rangers in the league table after their rivals picked up all three points in their clash with Hearts on Saturday.

That result makes this match against Motherwell all the more important as any dropped points today would extent Philippe Clement’s side’s two-point lead heading into the weekend.

Brendan Rodgers watched on as his team dropped two points against Kilmarnock last week, which was a result that allowed their rivals to overtake them on the Sunday.

A stoppage time equaliser from David Watson secured a point for the away side on the day and the Hoops boss could now look to make some changes to the starting XI from that match.

With this in mind, Rodgers must drop Adam Idah from the line-up to make way for creative midfielder Paulo Bernardo to return and for Kyogo Furuhashi to play as the lone striker.

Adam Idah’s performance against Kilmarnock in numbers

The Ireland international, who joined on loan from English side Norwich City on deadline day at the start of the month, led the line against Kilmarnock.

Idah endured a rough afternoon as a lack of service meant that he was left isolated, which led to a lack of impact from him at the top end of the pitch.

Despite having 71% of the possession, Celtic failed to create a single chance for the Irish marksman, who did not register a single effort on goal in 67 minutes on the pitch.

Kyogo did, however, score the opening goal from the Hoops and had two shots in total after starting the match in the number ten position behind Idah.

The Norwich loanee lost six of his ten duels, as the opposition found it too easy to get the better of him at times, and did not create any chances for his teammates before being substituted during the second half.

It was a disappointing performance from the Canaries academy graduate after he had enjoyed an impressive first two Premiership matches with the club.

Idah came off the bench to provide an assist for Nicolas Kuhn’s equaliser against Aberdeen earlier this month and then scored both of Celtic’s goals, both from the penalty spot, in a 2-1 win away at Hibernian in his first start.

His first two games with the club show that the potential is there for him to provide quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Scottish giants.

However, playing him and Kyogo alongside each other may not work in every match, as showcased by Idah’s struggles against Kilmarnock.

Therefore, bringing Bernardo in as a number ten to provide more natural creativity for Kyogo, and then bringing the Irish forward off the bench, could be a good change for this game against Motherwell.

Paulo Bernardo’s Celtic season in numbers

The Hoops signed the 22-year-old whiz on loan from Portuguese side Benfica last summer and he has shown glimpses of his quality in midfield so far this season.

Bernardo, who has been described as a “baller” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has started nine times in the Premiership for the Scottish giants and contributed with two goals, two assists, and three ‘big chances’ created in total.

One of the Portugal U21 international’s best performances in a Celtic shirt to date came in a 3-0 win away at St Mirren at the start of the year.

Paulo Bernardo

Vs St Mirren

Sofascore rating

8.5

Shots

Two

Goals

Zero

Key passes

Three

Big chances created

Two

Assists

Two

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the 5 foot 11 magician was on top form in the Premiership clash as he assisted Matt O’Riley and Greg Taylor for goals.

His creativity was also on display in Liga Portugal during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign as he caught the eye on loan with Paços Ferreira.

Bernardo ranked within the top 8% of midfielders in the division for assists (0.24) per 90, whilst also ranking within the top 9% for non-penalty goals (0.24) per 90, as the young gem produced two goals and two assists in nine league starts.

These statistics over the past year or so show that the “tenacious” – as he was described by the aforementioned Mango – dynamo has the quality to split open opposition defences to create chances for attackers when he is at his best.

Why Kyogo could benefit from Bernardo’s creativity

Playing Bernardo in a number ten role and getting him closer to Kyogo could benefit the Japan international by getting him into better shooting positions.

The former Vissel Kobe star has already taken 17 shots from outside of the box in 26 league appearances for Celtic this season, having attempted just six in 31 league outings last season.

He racked up a staggering 27 goals in those 31 Premiership games during the 2022/23 campaign but has only plundered nine goals in 26 matches this time around.

It should not be a surprise that his goalscoring numbers are down when you consider that the lack of creativity behind him is resulting in too many long shots being attempted.

Utilising Bernardo’s creativity in a number ten position could provide the Japanese marksman with higher-quality opportunities to get his shot off from within the box, rather than from distance, and, therefore, increase his chances of finding the back of the net.

Of course, the Portuguese loanee has not consistently provided high-quality creativity, possibly due to him being deployed as part of a midfield three instead of as a number ten at times, but the potential – as shown by his performance against St Mirren and form in Portugal last term – is there for him to be an excellent option.

Rodgers, therefore, must drop Idah down to the bench to unleash Kyogo as a lone number nine with Bernardo in the hole behind the Japan international.

This would also provide the manager with a fantastic option to change the game as Idah could come on to lead the line and push for a goal if needed in the second half.