Celtic ended the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership campaign with a 1-1 draw against St Mirren at Parkhead, having already clinched the title at the end of last month.
Jonah Ayunga’s goal gave the away side a shock lead at the start of the second half, but James Forrest stepped up in stoppage time to score a league goal for the Hoops for the 16th consecutive season – an extraordinary achievement.
As you can see in the clip above, central defender Liam Scales failed to get good distance on his headed clearance, which teed up Ayunga to rifle the ball into the back of the net.
Liam Scales' performance against St Mirren in numbers
The left-footed defender came into the side to replace Auston Trusty next to Cameron Carter-Vickers, with a chance to catch the eye ahead of the cup final.
Whilst he may not be happy with the goal that Celtic conceded and his part in it, Scales did a lot of good work in the match to keep the away side at bay.
The central defender ended the 90 minutes with eight clearances, four interceptions, and eight duels won, including seven out of 11 aerial battles won, which shows that he made a number of key defensive interventions.
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Meanwhile, central midfielder Paulo Bernardo was even worse than Scales and should be dropped by Brendan Rodgers for the SFA Cup final clash with Aberdeen next weekend.
Why Paulo Bernardo should be dropped
The Portuguese midfielder was given another chance to impress in the middle of the park ahead of the cup final, as Reo Hatate has been ruled out through injury.
There is a vacancy in the midfield next to Callum McGregor and Arne Engels, due to the Japanese star’s absence, and it should be Luke McCowan who is given the nod, not Bernardo.
In the clash with St Mirren, the former Benfica starlet lost 67% (4/6) of his duels and failed to create a single chance for his teammates in 54 minutes on the pitch.
This shows that he struggled in and out of possession for the Hoops and was even worse than Scales, who at least made numerous defensive interventions and completed 94% of his attempted passes.
Key passes
6
1
Big chances created
1
0
Assists
2
0
Shots
4
6
Goals
1
0
Duels won
4/9
7/12
Tackles + interceptions
4
6
As you can see in the table above, in the two matches since Hatate suffered his knee injury, McCowan has provided far more quality in possession from a midfield position in comparison to Bernardo.
These statistics suggest that the former Dundee man is more likely to make a big impact from the start at Hampden Park against Aberdeen next weekend, given his recent form in front of goal.
Therefore, Rodgers must take Bernardo out of the starting XI to bring the Scottish dynamo back into the side when the team takes to the field with the ambition of winning the treble.
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1 ByDan Emery