Celtic 3 - 2 Partick Thistle: How the players rated on each side

CELTIC

Dorus de Vries - 6

Could do nothing about either Thistle goal and was otherwise a bystander.

Mikael Lustig - 6

Received a bad knock in the first half but managed to continue. Tidy in possession but unspectacular.

Kristoffer Ajer - 7

Easily the more composed of Celtic’s centre halves, the young Norwegian kept Doolan quiet.

Jozo Simunovic - 3

His horrendous back-pass allowed Doolan in for Thistle’s first and was held off by Conor Sammon for their second. Looked nervous throughout.

Kieran Tierney - 7

Kept Spittal quiet and provided consistent support to Sinclair in more advanced positions. His tackle on Edwards in the final minute was game saving.

Scott Brown - 7

Dictated the tempo of the game in the second half after a quiet opening 45.

Olivier Ntcham - 6

A game which largely passed Ntcham by. Overshadowed by Brown and rarely found in advanced positions despite Thistle’s second half impotence.

James Forrest - 9

Another sparkling performance from Celtic’s form player and his hat-trick was one a centre forward would have been proud of. Always a threat when running from deep and Thistle couldn’t stop him.

Charly Musonda - 6

Musonda looked dangerous when given space in the hole, but he often found that space difficult to come by. Yet to build up a relationship with Dembele.

Scott Sinclair - 6

Set up Forrest’s third and should have scored a fourth for Celtic, but shot straight at Cerny.

Moussa Dembele - 6

Another fairly lacklustre performance from Dembele. Had a hand in the opening goal and looked a touch more energetic after half time, but he didn’t cause Thistle as many problems as he should have.

SUBS

Callum McGregor - 6

A quiet substitute appearance from McGregor.

Odsonne Edouard - N/A

Little time to make an impact.

Eboue Kouassi - N/A

Late sub.

PARTICK THISTLE

Tomas Cerny - 6

Made a fingertip save to deny Forrest a third after only 15 minutes and could do nothing about the goals.

Callum Booth - 5

Lucky to escape a booking for tackle on Lustig and unable to provide much support to Thistle’s forward players.

Baily Cargill - 5

Couldn’t have asked for a worse start, giving the ball away to Celtic for opening goal. Settled down afterwards, but will want to move on quickly.

Danny Devine - 5

Largely kept Dembele quiet but backed off Forrest for Celtic’s second goal, allowing him to fire past Cerny.

Paul McGinn - 6

Did an effective job in keeping Sinclair quiet in the first period but had a more difficult task in the second half as Celtic dominated.

Adam Barton - 5

Started slowly, giving the Celtic attacking players too much space in dangerous areas. Improved, but substituted after less than an hour.

Martin Woods - 6

Like Barton, off the pace early on but helped stifle Musonda thereafter. Picked up a silly booking.

Chris Erskine - 7

Thistle’s best player. His ability to find space and his composure on the ball helped drag Thistle back into the contest in the first half. He provided an excellent assist for Sammon’s goal and his brilliant late cross was nearly turned in for an equaliser by Edwards.

Ryan Edwards - 6

Industrious, but didn’t offer Doolan enough support in the second half. He came close to equalising late-on from Erskine’s cross.

Blair Spittal - 5

Occasionally threatened the Celtic back-line but his end product was often lacking.

Kris Doolan - 7

His brilliantly composed finish gave Thistle hope, but he struggled to make any other chances.

SUBS

Abdul Osman - 6

As Celtic turned the screw in the second half, Osman provided some resistance in the middle of the park

Conor Sammon - 6

His goal was a indication of his confidence, holding off Simunovic and expertly finishing past de Vries.

Andrew McCarthy - N/A

The young substitute had little time to impress.