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Celtic return to action in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon as they take on Aberdeen at Parkhead ahead of the November international break.
The Hoops head into this match in need of a reaction after their dismal 6-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Brendan Rodgers‘ side were ripped to shreds by the Spanish giants, with an early red card for Daizen Maeda not helping their cause, and they now have an opportunity to pick up a positive result before players head away with their respective countries.
One change the Northern Irish head coach must make to the starting XI that lined up in Spain is to ditch Kyogo Furuhashi and unleash Hyeon-Gyu Oh in his place.
Kyogo’s performance against Atletico in numbers
The Japan international produced a woeful display on Tuesday as he failed to impose himself on the match to help Celtic cause problems at the other end of the pitch.
As per Sofascore, Kyogo played 61 minutes of the 6-0 defeat and only had eight touches of the ball in total. With those touches, the forward failed to complete a single pass – with one attempted – and lost three of his four physical duels.
Unfortunately, that was not a new issue for the Hoops lightweight as he has now gone four matches without a goal in all competitions for the Hoops.
He also only completed three passes and failed to create any chances for his teammates – along with zero goals – in his last two Premiership starts.
The statistics that show why Oh should start
Meanwhile, Oh stepped up off the bench against Atletico and showed some fight during the second half by winning six of his eight duels and completing two passes.
The South Korea international started and played the full 90 minutes against Ross County last time out in the Premiership and showed signs of what he is capable of.
Statistic |
Oh vs Ross County (via Sofascore) |
---|---|
Sofascore rating |
7.5 |
Shots |
Six |
Goals |
Zero |
Chances created |
Three |
Duels won |
Eight |
Passes completed |
18 |
As you can see in the table above, Oh was constantly involved in the match by winning duels, making passes, creating chances, and taking shots at the opposition goal.
He was not rewarded with a goal or an assist for his efforts but did manage to pop up with a winning goal off the bench against St. Mirren in the previous league match.
The 22-year-old dynamo, who was once dubbed an “improving” talent by South Korean hero Jung-won Seo, has only started one league game for the Hoops this season and his recent performance suggest that he deserves more time on the pitch.
Oh, who scored six goals in 16 league outings last term for the Bhoys, has shown that he has the ability and physicality to be a constant nuisance to opposition defenders. Whereas, Kyogo’s recent displays have left a lot to be desired in terms of his impact, or lack thereof, in and out of possession as a number nine.
This is why Rodgers must ditch the Japan international, who made zero passes in midweek, in favour of the 6 foot 1 centre-forward against Aberdeen today.
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