THERE was a moment in the second-half of Celtic’s draw against Blackburn Rovers that had the entire home support on their feet, as some magic from Jota lit up Celtic Park and reminded everyone just why the fans were so excited when he was finally confirmed on a permanent contract earlier this summer.
As the Rovers full-back Hayden Carter came steaming in to challenge the winger, he scooped the ball high in the air from a standing position, leaving his opponent for dead, before nonchalantly killing the ball and strolling away.
It wasn’t a consequential moment in the game, but it will be spoken about perhaps long after his impressive goal on the half-volley here fades from the memory.
“I think everyone enjoyed that,” said teammate Matt O’Riley. “I spoke to him after the game and he said it’s the first time he’s tried that skill in a game. Sometimes in game you’re relaxed and you try it.
“He’s not bad is he? It’s still early on so hopefully he can keep raising his level. He’s a great guy which is the most important thing. He’s a lovely guy off the pitch but on the pitch he’s good to watch and we enjoy watching him. “The more quality we have the better. We trust our wingers to try to produce something. I thought Liel (Abada) was really good and beat the left-back any time he got it. They’re different players but bring a lot to the team.”
Jota’s overall performance here will have had Celtic fans purring, as the £6.4m capture from Benfica looked to be moving up the gears once more, and his manager Ange Postecoglou also seems buoyed by what might be to come from one of the club’s biggest ever signings.
“There’s no ceiling to his potential,” Postecoglou said.
“He was good. He probably struggled during the week. They’re working really hard, all the players aren’t feeling 100 percent going into games and he’s one. Especially attacking players, they rely on feeling fresh and their athleticism and speed.
“At the moment they’re turning into a bit of a blunt object till we get through this period.
“He was good today. I know people said we re-signed two players but we signed two better players than we had last year. That’s why we brought them in. There’s no reason why he can’t go further. “Last year was probably the first season he’s had settled somewhere. You got the sense he felt really good at the football club within this group and that was his first real year at making an impact.
“Our job is to make sure we take him to the next level and give him that chance. He’s focused and I’m sure he’ll do that.”
The overall performance of his side in the first half pleased Postecoglou, though he felt as though the match drifted after the interval after a raft of substitutions, as these matches tend to at this stage of pre-season.
However, he isn’t overly perturbed by some sloppiness in his side’s play that once again led to the concession of a couple of soft goals.
“It was decent,” he said. “I thought first half was real good as a game.
“We conceded early but played some good stuff, the tempo was good, there was a competitive edge so I was really pleased the way we went about things. “Second half, so many changes disrupts things and it’s hard to get a rhythm. Second half we probably didn’t get as much out of it as we’d like but there was the balance between getting minutes and fluency in game.” Meanwhile, Postecoglou thinks that the expected couple of arrivals this week will leave his squad in a good place for the ravages of the long season that lies ahead.
There will be a few players leaving of course, but he expects his pool to be just as large as last term, only far deeper in terms of quality.
“We had a pretty hectic schedule last year,” he said.
“The reality is we’ll play close to 60 games. Champions League on a weekly basis will add stress to the squad which is why I’m keen to bring in a couple more, to make sure we’re strong and robust. “Last year it affected our ability to perform at a really high level. I don’t think it’ll be a bigger squad, just more robust with quality.”
