Celtic captain Callum McGregor carried the team on his back against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, securing the win with a stunning strike from distance.
The former Scotland international delivered a staggering finish from outside of the box in the 95th minute for the Hoops, when the game felt destined to end with a 0-0 draw.
Interim head coach Martin O’Neill needed his captain to step up with that goal because it was an underwhelming performance that will leave several players concerned about their place in the starting line-up.
For example, the Northern Irish manager should ruthlessly drop left-winger Sebastian Tounekti from the team ahead of the clash with Feyenoord on Thursday night in the Europa League.
Why Celtic should drop Sebastian Tounekti
The Tunisia international was a breath of fresh air after his move from Hammarby at the end of the summer transfer window, as he got fans off their seats with his exciting play on his debut against Kilmarnock.
Unfortunately, though, the 23-year-old forward has failed to add end product to his exciting play, with a return of two goals and no assists in 14 appearances in all competitions for the club, per Transfermarkt.
On top of his struggles in the final third throughout the season so far, Tounekti’s all-round performances in the last two Premiership games have left too much to be desired.
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Sebastian Tounekti’s last two performances
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Stats
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vs Kilmarnock
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Vs St Mirren
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Minutes
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78
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67
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Shots
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2
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1
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Goals
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0
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0
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Key passes
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0
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1
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Big chances created
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0
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0
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Dribbles completed
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2/10
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2/6
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Duels won
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3/13
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3/11
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Stats via Sofascore
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As you can see in the table above, the Hoops winger failed to deliver much in the way of quality against Kilmarnock or St Mirren, whilst struggling badly with the physical side of the game.
With this in mind, O’Neill could ruthlessly ditch Tounekti from the starting line-up on Thursday by unleashing Paulo Bernardo in a brand-new role on the left flank.
Why Paulo Bernardo should be played on the left wing
The Portuguese central midfielder has only played six matches in all competitions this season, per Transfermarkt, but unleashing him as a left winger could be a genius move by the interim manager.
Per Transfermarkt, Bernardo has never played as a left midfielder or left winger in his senior career, for Benfica or Celtic, but it is a position that could suit him against Feyenoord.
Against St Mirren, Tounekti and Kieran Tierney often seemed to want to do the same thing, which was to get to the byline to cross the ball, and they got in each other’s way at times.
Playing Bernardo on the left against Feyenoord would provide Tierney, who has delivered four assists in all competitions this season, the freedom of the left flank to deliver crosses, as the ex-Benfica man would drift inside into more central areas in possession, similarly to how Luke McCowan plays when he is deployed on the right wing.
On top of this move potentially unlocking Tierney as an attacking force, it could also provide Bernardo with more opportunities to showcase his talent at the top end of the pitch.
The central midfielder, who was hailed as “tenacious” by Brendan Rodgers, has produced seven goals and seven assists in 83 appearances for the Hoops to date, per Transfermarkt, whilst he has also scored 11 goals in 32 caps for Portugal’s U21s.
This suggests that he does have the potential to provide a threat in the final third if given a chance to play further up the pitch, which is another reason why this brand-new role could be a good move for him.
Therefore, O’Neill should finally ditch Tounekti from the starting XI to try out a pairing of Tierney and Bernardo down the left against Feyenoord on Thursday.
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By
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