Celtic returned from the international break with a bang.
There will be no distractions now for the rest of 2024, as Celtic put four goals past Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday evening in another ruthless display from the side.
The scoreline was goalless at the break, with the home team the better side and the champions still trying to find their rhythm.
But a few words from Brendan Rodgers at the break certainly changed matters because Celtic were at their best in the second half.
In a flash, the game was gone for Hearts because the always-alert Kyogo Furuhashi pounced on some fortune to open the scoring and five minutes later Nicolas Kuhn scored a thunderbolt.
From then on, Rodgers watched his side control matters as Adam Idah came off the bench to net a brace to showcase Celtic’s bench strength.
But from the opening 45 minutes to matters after the break, Chris Sutton felt that one man’s performance certainly changed.
Chris Sutton hails Reo Hatate’s change in performance for Celtic
In the first period, Celtic weren’t threatening Hearts’ backline enough and were way too deep by their standards.
But that changed at the break and Sutton touched upon Reo Hatate being at the heart of it all, as he told Sky Sports Football (23/11/24).
The former striker stated that Hatate was ‘far more prominent’ as Celtic started to change their gears in style.
“He has been far more prominent in this second half for Celtic,” said Sutton. “Much more of an influence.
Hatate’s stats for Celtic against Hearts
The 27-year-old is one of the first names on the teamsheet for Rodgers and a huge part of the club’s success.
If you allow Hatate to breathe in the middle of that pitch, he will punish you, and you could sense his influence growing as the game wore on.
WhoScored rated the Japan star’s performance at 6.64, including a few clever through balls from the midfielder that didn’t result in deserving goals.
