Celtic’s win over Ross County was probably the toughest victory Brendan Rodgers has watched in the Scottish Premiership this season.
The late winner had the Celtic fans talking about Nicolas Kuhn as the German winger kept Brendan Rodgers’ 100% winning streak going in the league.
But whilst the fans all laud Kuhn, Pat Bonner moved to address what he’s heard people saying about Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo at Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers dropped Bernardo to the bench in favour of Hatate for the Celtic win over Ross County this afternoon and the former Hoops hero felt he had to defend both players after what he heard being said about their roles at the club.
The ‘big talking point’ about Reo Hatate being a better defensive option than Paulo Bernardo
Speaking after the Celtic team was announced for the Dingwall clash, Bonner cleared up why labelling both Bernardo and Hatate as defensive players was just wrong.
Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland, “The other big talking point is Reo Hatate coming in for Bernardo. There was a discussion, I think yesterday somebody mentioned that Reo Hatate that it was not better to put him in instead of Paulo Bernardo, because he would be a little bit more of a defensive player.
“Reo Hatate is not a defensive player either. When I look at a defensive player, I look at somebody sitting alongside Callum McGregor, to give a real solidity to a midfield, especially when you don’t have the ball, and especially up against a really good team.”
Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo’s attacking qualities for Celtic
Whoever said that about the Celtic duo seems to have annoyed Bonner as the former Celtic goalkeeper moved to explain the attacking qualities Hatate and Bernardo bring to the Celtic team.
Bonner continued, “Reo Hatate is a brilliant player and he’ll move around the pitch and get on the ball, he’s a creative player and makes big passes. He’ll do all that.
“So from that perspective, that’s why that debate is going on. Paulo Bernardo is not a defensive midfield player, either.
“What he’s done well this year is counter-pressing, but that’s a different type of defensive mentality, counter-pressing. That’s around the ball quickly when you lose it, but when you have to get into an organized defensive shape, which was missing midweek, let’s face it, from Celtic.”
Brendan Rodgers labelled Hatate as ‘outstanding’ after the Japanese midfielder’s performance against Kilmarnock at the start of this season.
And today, the Celtic boss lauded Bernardo as a game-changer in the win over Ross County.
Hatate has two goals and an assist and Bernardo has matched that with one less game played so far this season.
Where that particular debate has come from is unclear. Maybe it’s because as a unit, Celtic defend ferociously as a team.
And in doing that it may seem like both players are defensively minded but every fan knows and has also seen that when it comes to those big attacking moments in games, like in the case of Bernardo in last season’s Scottish Cup final and with Hatate’s goals against Rangers, both are attackers and are far from the defensively minded players that Bonner has heard them being labelled as.
