Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table back to 13 points on Wednesday night with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Dundee.
The Hoops made light work of their opponents at Parkhead and are one step closer to winning the top-flight for the fourth successive season.
Jota, who rejoined the club in a move from Rennes last month, started his first match under Brendan Rodgers and ended the game with an assist to his name.
The star of the show for the Scottish giants, however, was not the Portuguese sensation. Instead, it was the team’s Belgian wizard in the middle of the park.
Arne Engels’ performance against Dundee
The summer signing from Augsburg was selected alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate in midfield and caught the eye with a masterful showing.
Engels kicked off the scoring for the Hoops in the 18th minute by coolly converting from the penalty spot after Auston Trusty was fouled inside the box.
The Belgian midfielder then turned provider for the fourth goal with an assist for Daizen Maeda, before he added his second of the match with a fine, albeit slightly deflected, effort from the edge of the box that sailed into the back of the net.
Engels, who completed 88% of his attempted passes and created two chances, was a crucial part of the impressive victory for Celtic with his contributions at the top end of the pitch.
However, there was a player at the other end of the pitch who was just as important as the Belgium international on Wednesday night – Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ performance against Dundee
The USA international did not provide a goal or an assist in the 6-0 thumping and that is why his impressive performance at the heart of the defence may have gone unnoticed, or underappreciated.
Having a rock solid defence provides the attacking players with a platform to build from and the former Tottenham Hotspur titan’s defensive work provided the perfect platform.
Carter-Vickers was just as important as Engels to the performance because he was almost faultless defensively, which allowed the Belgian, alongside the likes of Maeda, Adam Idah, and Jota, to thrive in the final third.
|
Cameron Carter-Vickers |
Vs Dundee |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
90 |
|
Touches |
126 |
|
Pass success |
96% |
|
Tackles |
2 |
|
Interceptions |
4 |
|
Dribbled past |
0x |
|
Duels won |
8/11 |
As you can see in the table above, the American man mountain was almost unbeatable at the back, winning the vast majority of his duels, and was not dribbled past a single time.
This allowed Celtic to assert dominance in the game, as he consistently won the ball back and prevented Dundee from building attacks, to then go on and score the goals that they did.
Carter-Vickers also provided reliability in possession, taking 126 touches and completing 96% (108/112) of his attempted passes, which allowed the Hoops to build out from the back without giving away any chances through sloppy passes.
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Therefore, Carter-Vickers, despite not being directly involved in any of the six goals, was just as important as Engels and Rodgers should be delighted with his showing.
