Celtic whiz with 11 key passes was the star of the show over Johnston

Celtic whiz with 11 key passes was the star of the show over Johnston

The impressive Hoops attacker caught the eye with a stunning performance.

Celtic ensured that they will be top of the Scottish Premiership table ahead of their Old Firm clash on Saturday as they beat Dundee 3-0 away from Parkhead on Boxing Day.

An untidy finish from Paulo Bernardo and a double from Michael Johnston off the bench secured all three points for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The Hoops have now won back-to-back top-flight matches without conceding a goal to bounce back from successive defeats to Kilmarnock and Hearts.

Whilst academy graduate Johnston caught the eye with two goals off the bench for the Scottish giants, the real star of the show for Brendan Rodgers was the man he replaced – Luis Palma.

Johnston’s performance against Dundee in numbers

The Republic of Ireland international came on as a substitute with just over ten minutes to play and scored twice from four shots on goal.

His first goal came just four minutes after his introduction as the attacker was given the space to drive inside onto his right foot and that allowed him to unleash a shot from distance that Trevor Carson may feel he should have done better with as it did not go in the corner.

The second then came in stoppage time as a loose ball in the box fell into his path and allowed the forward to stroke a composed finish into the bottom right corner.

Johnston also completed ten of his 11 (91%) attempted passes to go along with the goals that sealed a comfortable victory for the Hoops.

He had an impressive cameo and it was great to see the academy product on the scoresheet twice but the real star of the show was Palma as the sublime whiz ran the game and constantly opened up the opposition defence.

Luis Palma’s performance in numbers

The Honduras international played the first 79 minutes of the match and his attacking prowess was on full display as he put on a magical show for the supporters.

Palma produced a staggering 11 key passes for his teammates to fire a shot on goal, one of which resulted in the opening goal and another created a ‘big chance’.

The summer signing from Aris provided the pass for Bernardo’s opener as he brilliantly slid the ball down the channel for the midfielder to run onto and slot, albeit unconvincingly, past the goalkeeper.

His quick feet were also on display as Palma completed all five of his attempted dribbles to get past his opponent to then open up space further up the pitch for him to then create a chance or get a shot away.

The exciting magician also stood up to the physical nature of the match as he won 11 of his 17 duels, including two of his three aerial battles.

Palma was, therefore, excellent in and out of possession for Celtic and had contributed to what would have been the winning goal from Bernardo before Johnston’s late double.

He was the star of the show with his exceptional creativity and is now on five goals and nine assists in 12 Premiership matches so far this season since his move to Scotland in the summer.