Celtic were too good for Motherwell at Fir Park as the Well were beaten 4-1.
The visitors were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to a Mohamed Elyounoussi double. Declan Gallagher got one back for Motherwell with a header 18 minutes from time before Neil Lennon’s men added another two through Elyounoussi once more and Olivier Ntcham, Stephen Robinson’s side succumbing to an unfortunate scoreline.
Striker Callum Lang said pre-match that this was a good time for the Well to face Celtic and it’s hard to disagree. Robinson’s men had picked up 12 points from 18 in prior matches whilst the Hoops were on a run of one win in six.
Much of the match’s focus was on whether Celtic’s torrid run would continue but Motherwell had their own agenda of securing a hugely impressive three points. But a mishap had them fighting uphill seven minutes in.
Liam Polworth won the ball back in his own half and the usually reliable playmaker played a bizarre pass into his own box, Albian Ajeti hitting the post after latching onto the ball, Elyounoussi fumbling the rebound in.
It was an unnecessary goal to lose and Celtic almost had similar two minutes later. Tony Watt’s ball across goal was almost slide-tackled into the net by Kristoffer Ajer but it crept by the post.
Motherwell were having some joy going forward, Lang having a penalty shout turned away after a run into the box before coming a whisker away from turning Watt’s ball into an empty net.
But Celtic were just as threatening up the other end as they were afforded time and space. One player who shouldn’t be given this is Tom Rogic, who danced his way into the box and set Elyounoussi up for another tap-in.
The game had been fairly even but Celtic were clinical in the first half. Rogic again almost caused a goal, breaking up the park at pace, avoiding two last-ditch tackles before Ryan Christie put an effort over the bar.
Robinson’s men had it all to do in the second half and came painfully close to halving the lead two minutes into the half. A Gallagher header caused chaos, eventually hooked away after a battle on the goal line. Devante Cole was then lucky to stay on the park, his high challenge on Jeremie Frimpong only warranting a yellow card.
Even at 2-0 after the hour mark, Motherwell were still in this but time was running out and they needed to convert some of the chances they were creating. One did come, a brilliant Polworth cross meeting Gallagher’s head. Well and truly game on with 18 minutes to go.
But Elyounoussi ended the match three minutes later, Motherwell caught sleeping as the Norwegian was left free at the back post. It was a bitter goal to swallow for Robinson, who watched his side get back into things only to fall further behind inside 180 seconds.
At 3-1 there was too much to do and Ntcham wrapped it up, left free to shoot into the net inside the box as Lennon’s men took all three points in Lanarkshire. Here are three things we learned.
Well left to ponder
Despite the 4-1 scoreline, Motherwell were very much in this game for large spells. Even at a couple of goals down it was the home team creating the most chances but Celtic were clinical.
Big-game players like Elyounoussi and Rogic showed their quality when needed as despite their energetic performance, the Steelmen couldn’t take anything from Celtic.
Too much respect
One thing that did let Motherwell down was the respect given to Celtic in forward areas. Whilst good going forward, the away team were allowed to work with their quality in plenty of space on several occasions.
Against a side like Celtic you can’t do that. Motherwell were right in this at 2-1 but just the like the first two goals they had conceded, a Hoops attacker was afforded luxurious time to take this beyond Robinson’s team. The fourth was insult to injury.
A Well boost
Robinson is seriously light on bodies at the back, Ricki Lamie, Jake Carroll, Charles Dunne, Trevor Carson and Scott Fox all missing for this match. But there were positive signs in the form of Bevis Mugabi.
The Ugandan international dislocated his shoulder last month and was set to miss 6-8 weeks of action. He took part in the pre-match warmup at Fir Park, suggesting a return after the international break could be very soon.