How Celtic new boys Benjamin Siegrist and Alexandro Bernabei performed on home debuts

Celtic handed non-competitive home debuts to summer signings Benjamin Siegrist and Alexandro Bernabei for the second half of the 2-2 friendly draw with Blackburn Rovers.

Benjamin Siegrist

The Swiss star demonstrated that he has the quality to push Joe Hart for the No.1 spot at Celtic Park. A commanding presence between the sticks, he produced three impressive stops with the home side winning 2-1.

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The first was a strong stop down to his right, pushing the ball away from danger. It was evidence of his ability to get down quickly despite his tall frame. The second was on his opposite side, again stopping a shot from Sam Gallagher which was low but close to him. This time he pushed the ball in front of him but took the sting out of the shot to allow Bernabei to clear easily. His third and final may have been the most impressive. A through ball, he had to come and narrow the angle, which he did and prevented a goal with a save using his left leg.

Alexandro Bernabei

The left-back became the first ever Argentine to play for the club at Celtic Park. He replaced Greg Taylor at half-time and didn’t look out of place. In fact, he looked right at home. He spoke to Stephen Welsh early on, asking for him to move the ball to his side to allow him to motor up the flank. And, largely, that’s what he did.

Bernabei constantly looked to rampage forward but there was thinking behind it. He would dovetail nicely with Jota, moving infield when required or overlapping. There was a moment he tried to overdo it having got the better of one man. Rather than knock the ball back to Jota who had space he tried to beat a second opponent before winning the corner. The second time in a similar position he floated in a cross which you could imagine Giorgis Giakoumakis gobbling up.

The 21-year-old even went close to scoring, taking in a David Turnbull through ball on the edge of the box, his stinging effort pushed away by Thomas Kaminski in the Rovers goal.

There were enough positive signs prior to Jota's substitution midway through the second half to suggest a strong relationship forming.

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