Celtic dropped points for only the second time this season against Dundee United.
Brendan Rodgers made a host of changes from the League Cup final win over Rangers, with several stars missing through illness and injury.
Luke McCowan, Anthony Ralston, Stephen Welsh, Liam Scales and Yang Hyun-Jun came into the XI. But Celtic left Dundee United with only one point.
Celtic dominated the ball at Tannadice, but throughout, they lacked that bite, one-touch play and finish in the final third.
Even when Rodgers brought on his subs – Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, Arne Engels and Luis Palma – they provided energy, but not added quality.
Chris Sutton was on commentary for the game and he was pretty honest with what he saw.
Chris Sutton says it ‘wasn’t easy’ for Celtic’s fringe players against Dundee United
Celtic have been near-on faultless this season, including putting in very strong performances in the Champions League.
So, it hasn’t been easy for those sitting on the bench to earn enough regular minutes to prove their worth, and when they did against Dundee United, they didn’t impress.
Sutton acknowledged that the Bhoys ‘weren’t good enough’ in the final third, but he also seemed to sympathise with those bench players, as he posted on Twitter.
Celtic not good enough in the final third today,” said Sutton. “You can’t win them all mind.
“Big players missing and not easy for fringe players to come in and perform to the required level. Well played to Jim Goodwin and Dundee United.
Celtic’s stats against Dundee United
Yes, someone like Luis Palma is getting stick for his performance, but the focus should be more on the senior players and those who do start every week.
From Kyogo Furuhashi to Daizen Maeda, they all weren’t at it and should be criticised far more than a bloke who hasn’t even played 200 minutes of football this term.
Nonetheless, Celtic’s stats, as posted by BBC Sport, especially their attempts from outside of the box, proved how they just couldn’t break down a strong Dundee United defence.
