It appeared the goals quota had been used up in midweek until Alexandro Bernabei intervened.
After the madness of Yokohama in midweek, Celtic rounded off their pre-season tour of Japan with a more low key win over Gamba Osaka, thanks to their Argentine left-back’s sheer persistence. It looked as though there were no goals to be had for Brendan Rodgers’ side nor their J1 League opponents, with a host of chances going begging until Bernabei chased down his own poor pass to rob the Osaka keeper and tap into an empty net.
Elsewhere, Daizen Maeda was denied a fourth goal in two matches to open the scoring, despite being well behind the home side’s defensive line. It was a tall order in outdoing such a poor call, but Musashi Suzuki had a fine finish chalked off at the other end despite being so far behind Tomoki Iwata the pair were practically in different postcodes.
There was little else of great significance to report from what was ultimately an exercise in fitness for both teams, but it got the goal it deserved in the end. Here are five talking points from Osaka.
Slick Celtic
There were flashes of Celtic’s capabilities in the opening friendly against Yokohama but it felt like they’d gone up a level in terms of sharpness here. Hatate was again the standout. For the second pre-season match in a row, the midfielder was operating at a level above everyone else on the pitch.
His role has become slightly different under Rodgers, and we now longer see him drifting into wide left areas with Greg Taylor moving inside, but he seems to be thriving within the tweaked setup. His awareness of space, touch and passing were a joy to behold at times. Liel Abada, too, looked sharp, with his runs in behind a feature of the last two matches.
The second-half featured a completely different XI, with a mix of debuts, fringe players and B team talents given an opportunity to make an impression. The changes did not do much for Celtic’s fluency, as tends to happen in pre-season, and Gamba had the better of the second-half chances.
In the end, though, it was Bernabei who foraged his way to the only goal of the game. The full-back had initially fluffed a pass almost comically into the corner, but he refused to give up the ghost and chased down a dawdling Kei Ishikawa to leave himself with an open goal.
Offside calamities
You should, if you haven’t already, make sure you get a look at two of the worst offside calls you’re likely to see from this game. Both teams suffered equally from some comical officiating and it robbed the first-half of two perfectly good goals.
The first went against Celtic, with Reo Hatate’s pass finding a clearly onside Daizen Maeda to fire high into the net, only for the flag to go up and deny the Japanese star another goal in his homeland. It was the culmination of a flowing Celtic move, with Hatate’s through ball and Maeda’s sliding finish deserving better.
On the cusp of half-time, Gamba Osaka carved their visitors open for the first time, with a smart reverse pass feeding Suzuki to fire past Joe Hart. The forward looked around in sheer disbelief when the linesman threw his flag up for offside, and it was little wonder why.
It was, somehow, an even worse call than that which went against Maeda, with Suzuki being played, at the very least, a yard onside by Tomoki Iwata. Such blunders are largely inconsequential in games of this kind, with the result of little importance to either side, but it did deny the fans in attendance two legitimate and well-worked goals.
Maeda flying
Over two seasons under Ange Postecoglou, Maeda had gained a reputation where his work rate was considered the most valuable element of his game. Deployed on the left wing, he displayed an incredible level of fitness and willingness to initiate the relentless press Postecoglou demanded.
But despite his speed and power, Maeda did not often look like a natural winger. Moved into a central striker’s role this pre-season under Rodgers, the 25-year-old appears to have more to offer through the middle. He certainly looks more comfortable in that role.
He may not have the natural finishing instincts of Kyogo but in terms of movement and threat in behind, he offers plenty of what his talismanic team-mate can. And in a side which creates as many chances as Celtic do, he’s bound to score plenty.
With Celtic taking care with Kyogo after the shoulder injury he sustained at the end of last season, it’s given Maeda a chance to shine. As well as the finish wrongly ruled offside, he was desperately unlucky not to score with a brilliantly clever turn and shot, his effort crashing against the crossbar.
Holm's debut
A debut for Celtic’s summer signing from Valerenga was the most intriguing half-time change. Odin Thiago Holm’s reverence to his Liverpool idol has been well documented and it’s clear he bases his game on the Spaniard, right down to the low socks.
The Norwegian is very comfortable in possession, looking to drift into midfield pockets and play short combination passes. It would be harsh to draw too many conclusions from a first outing where a young player is trying to feel his way into a new team, but Holm was perhaps a little two conservative in his distribution at times. Once such instance, simply laying the ball off to Bosun Lawal at centre-back, prompted Rodgers to implore Holm to ‘play forward’.
With Hatate and Callum McGregor likely to be Rodgers’ primary midfield pairing, Holm faces a tough task breaking into Celtic’s midfield with any regularity this season. But he clearly has talent, and is well-suited to Rodgers’ possession-based system.
Subtle changes
It remains early days in this new Celtic era but there are already indications that Rodgers is making some tweaks to Postecoglou’s well-oiled winning machine of the past two years. The high press is perhaps not quite as high as it was previously, but the emphasis does still remain on winning the ball back as quickly as possible.
The midfield two creates a different dynamic, with Hatate sharing responsibility with McGregor in dropping deep to take the ball from centre-backs. The Japan international would often play higher up under Postecoglou, rotating into wide positions with Greg Taylor moving in off the flank, but in a more traditional midfield position he has been able to display his exemplary range of passing from deep positions.
Another notable change was Rodgers dropping Kyogo in behind Oh Hyeun-Gyu for the second half, with last season’s top scorer playing in between midfield and attack. It would be premature to read too much into that change, with this stage of pre-season still primarily about getting players plenty time on the pitch.
Rodgers has indicated that the ‘core’ group will begin to take priority for minutes in the upcoming games against Wolves and Athletic Club, from which point you feel Rodgers’ vision for the season ahead will begin to take a clearer form.
