Partick Thistle 1 - 4 Celtic: How the players on each team rated

Marks out of ten for each and every player as Celtic defeated Partick Thistle 4-1 at Firhill.

Erik Sviatchenko battles with Kris Doolan as Celtic ran out comfortable 4-1 winners from the Ladbrokes Premiership encounter. Picture: SNS

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PARTICK THISTLE

GK - Tomas Cerny – 6

Two fine saves either side of the half as well as a crucial intervention outside the box to halt Leigh Griffiths. However, was too slow to get down for Stuart Armstrong’s second goal. He didn’t appear to know where the ball was.

RB - Ziggy Gordon – 4

Exposed down the right in the first-half. Tried to support the attack from deep but left a lot of space in behind. Cynically hauled down Gary Mackay-Steven for a booking before Griffiths lulled him in tight and beat the full-back to deliver the assist for the first goal.

CB - Adam Barton – 5

His ball playing ability is more suited to a back three and the strategy allows him to play zonal. He struggled with the crafty movement of Griffiths. Tried to control the ball as he nipped ahead of Griffiths for the third goal but ended up having his pocket picked. While admirable, the ball should have been put into the stand.

CB - Liam Lindsay – 6

Headed in Thistle’s goal and had a relatively assured performance despite the concession of four goals. Getting better in the air. Another learning curve in his development.

LB - Callum Booth – 6

A solid display from the left-back. Patrick Roberts had little effect throughout which is testament to Booth. He is more positive than Gordon and showed a willingness to try and get forward.

MR - David Amoo – 4

Ineffectual once again. There is no question that this is a player with power and pace but is limited in possession and very predictable to play against. Chris Cadden showed that Emilio Izaguirre can be exposed but Amoo rarely tried to get past him. His crossing was either blocked out for a corner or nowhere near a team mate.

MC - Abdul Osman – 5

The captain didn’t have the impact he usually does. An early warning from Craig Thomson seemed to limit him from making it difficult for the Celtic midfield. His impact was nominal as the game passed him by.

MC - Sean Welsh – 6

Had a strong first-half where he helped patrol the space in front of the defence, making timely interventions. He tried to push the midfield forward. Second half was a toil as Celtic dominated with Stuart Armstrong influential. Failed to track Callum McGregor for Celtic’s fourth.

ML - Christie Elliott – 5

Offered little going forward but was in the team to help with the threat of Patrick Roberts. Did his defensive duties well in support of Booth, but was partly at fault for the third goal when he allowed Cristian Gamboa to nick the ball off his feet and power forward. When trailing he is perhaps most the useful player on the pitch.

AM - Chris Erskine – 5

He’s struggled to recapture his early season form after returning from injury. The 29-year-old failed to link midfield and attack. Went close with a chip but other than that it was another display that required more. Much more.

FC - Kris Doolan – 5

Minimal contact with the ball. Big gap between him and the midfield, and looked lost without Ade Azeez alongside him.

SUBSTITUTES

Ade Azeez – 6

Threatened more in 15 minutes than his fellow forwards put together. His pace allowed him to get in behind before getting booked for diving.

Steven Lawless – 5

Was on the pitch for more than half an hour. Anonymous.

Ryan Edwards – 6

Busy cameo from the Australian. A surprising omission. JS

CELTIC

GK - Craig Gordon - 6

Didn’t have much to do aside from another rush of blood to the head where he charged off his line to meet Azeez running through. While the striker may have exaggerated contact, Gordon did stick his boot out to obstruct the attacker before withdrawing before he got himself sent off.

DR - Cristian Gamboa - 7

Had a quiet first half but came alive in the early period of the second, playing a part in each of the second and third goals. He did especially well at the latter, nicking the ball off Elliott. Was docked points for failing to stay goal-side with Lindsay at Thistle’s goal.

DC - Mikael Lustig - 6

Didn’t look entirely comfortable at centre-half, especially in the opening period with long-balls a notable issue. Improved after the break. His distribution was inconsistent throughout.

DC - Erik Sviatchenko - 6

Celtic had to play from the back a lot and the centre-back was guilty of a number of slack touches and passes, which slowed the visitors down. He was solid defensively until the 80th minute when Azeez got in behind him and could easily have scored.

DL - Emilio Izaguirre - 8

After his struggles at Motherwell last Saturday, Izaguirre bounced back with a fine performance patrolling Celtic’s left-flank. Sound defensively and laid the fourth goal on a plate for Callum McGregor with a perfectly clipped cross.

MRC - Tom Rogic - 7

Was by far Celtic’s best player in the opening 25 minutes. His passing become increasingly erratic as the half went on and he was hooked close to the hour-mark. He did, however, play the ball through which enabled Griffiths to net the third.

DM - Scott Brown - 7

Didn’t quite have the energy levels to match some of his more impressive performances this season. Still battled well and used his no-yellow-card-for-me super powers to good effect.

MLC - Stuart Armstrong - 9

A player reborn. Simply, Celtic don’t win this game anywhere near as comfortably, if at all, without Armstrong. His energy lifted Celtic after a dismal opening 25 minutes. He then netted the first and second goals and played a large part in the third. Outstanding.

RW - Patrick Roberts - 6

Celtic’s poorest performer on the day. He tried to be positive and run at opponents on the ball but very little came off for him. A blazed effort over the bar following an Izaguirre cut-back summed up his evening.

FC - Leigh Griffiths - 9

It will be very difficult to drop the striker after this performance. Had a couple of iffy moments and missed a decent chance early on, but as the game progressed he got better and better. Skinned Gordon and laid the opener on a plate for Armstrong, then embarrassed Barton before producing an excellent finish for the third. His movement and link play were tremendous in the second half.

LW - Gary Mackay-Steven - 6

A poor touch followed by a backpass, which almost let in Doolan, highlighted his lack of confidence. He tried to make things happen but, similar to Roberts, not much came off for him.

SUBSTITUTES

Callum McGregor - 8

Lively in the centre of the park, linking play, and produced a great strike to finish Izaguirre’s cross after drifting into the area.

Ryan Christie - 7

Played one great through pass for Izaguirre and was another who showed real energy after coming off the bench.

Moussa Dembele - 6

Unlucky to see a close-range shot deflected over by Barton. CF

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