JOTA scored what he ranked as one of the best goals of his career as Celtic saw off Aberdeen on flag day, but he was immediately given a reminder by manager Ange Postecoglou of the standards he expects after allowing his level to drop prior to his wonder strike.
The winger was one of several Celtic players who went off the boil towards the end of the first half in the win at Celtic Park, with the hosts wastefulness in front of goal and slack use of the ball almost allowing Aberdeen a path back into the game.
Postecoglou had to reiterate to his players what is expected of them at the half-time interval, and despite scooping the man of the match award, Jota didn’t escape a talking to from his boss.
“There is no doubt the boy has talent and he is determined to be the best footballer he can be,” Postecoglou said. “But, he was one of the main culprits in the last 15 minutes of the first half.
“He was wasteful with the ball and he gave away possession when he didn't have to.
“These are the kind of things we have to avoid. We have to keep these guys on track and not let them get away from the things we want them to do.
“The good thing is he addressed it at half-time and in the second half, not just his goal but his general play was really good. He was dangerous, threatening and doing the team stuff as well.
“There are lessons in there for everyone. I didn’t shout or give him a going over [at half-time]. At the same time you need to address the issues at hand.
“You can’t just dismiss the last 15 minutes of the first half. There are lessons in there as other teams may punish you in that period.
“In the second half we addressed it and we finished the game strongly.
“It was a solid performance but we were just wasteful in front of goal. I was disappointed because I thought we could have been a lot more clinical with the chances we created. If we had taken them we could have put the game well to bed.
“It was a decent workout for us. Our movement was good and our passing was good.
“But, we could have had more chances if we made better decisions in the final third.”
