Celtic are currently 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with six matches left to play before the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Brendan Rodgers’s side are on course to win the top-flight title for the fourth successive year, since the old enemy won it in the 2020/21 season, but it has not been a perfect season by any stretch at Parkhead.
The Hoops have already lost more games (four) than they did in the entirety of the 2023/24 Premiership term, with their most recent defeat coming against St. Johnstone last weekend.
Celtic have lost two of their last three matches, having lost 3-2 to Rangers before the international break, and that is something Rodgers will be concerned about heading into the summer.
The Hoops boss will not want it to become a habit heading into next season and, so, will be looking at what has gone wrong in recent games to make adjustments and improve the team.
What went wrong in Celtic's loss to St. Johnstone
There were several reasons why the Premiership leaders ended up on the wrong side of a result against the team rooted to the bottom of the table last weekend.
One of them was that Auston Trusty, who came in to replace Maik Nawrocki, gave away a cheap free-kick that presented the home side with a chance to put pressure on the goal, resulting in a header that made it 1-0.
That gave the Saints something to hold on to and they did exactly that for the rest of the match as they sat deep and defended the box for their lives, needing their goalkeeper to make nine saves in total.
Celtic were unable to break them down to get the equaliser, and a subsequent winner, because they did not offer enough quality in the final third, due to their top performers failing to step up.
Minutes
76
61
45
Goals + assists
0
0
0
Shots on target
1
2
0
Key passes
2
0
1
Big chances created
0
0
0
Pass accuracy
76%
73%
72%
Duels won
7/11
2/6
3/10
As you can see in the table above, the front three that Rodgers selected to the start did not do enough at the top end of the pitch, with zero ‘big chances’ created combined.
Nicolas Kuhn, in particular, struggled as the German forward delivered zero shots on target, one key pass, and lost 70% of his duels in the first half before being withdrawn from the action at the break.
It has been a frustrating time for the 25-year-old attacker, whose form has dipped from his early season heroics, and Rodgers may be thinking of ways to get the left-footed whiz back to his best.
Nicolas Kuhn's recent struggles for Celtic
After the defeat to St. Johnstone, Kuhn has now been substituted at half-time in two of the last three matches, having also been hooked at the break in the loss to Rangers.
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The German winger has only scored one goal in his last ten appearances in the Premiership and has been substituted by the 72nd minute in all five of his most recent starts in the division, which suggests that Rodgers has not been overly pleased with what the forward has produced on the pitch.
Kuhn had scored nine goals in his first 17 outings in the Scottish top-flight, which shows that there has been a clear drop-off in his output in the final third from the right wing.
The former Bayern Munich and Ajax youngster was the star of the show for the Hoops in the first half of the season, as evidenced by his exceptional goal return, but he now needs to find a way to reignite that flame.
Whilst there are things Kuhn could do to get back to his best, like delivering more quality in his actions at the top end of the pitch from the right flank, there is also something that Rodgers could do to put the forward on the right track.
Why Celtic must play Nicolas Kuhn in a new role
36 of the 25-year-old star’s 37 starts in all competitions this season have been on the right flank and the Hoops manager could brilliantly revive the winger’s form by unleashing him in a brand new role for the club.
The ex-Rapid Vienna star has never played in a central position for Celtic but he has played as a centre-forward at previous clubs, scoring an eye-catching 29 goals in 43 matches in his career in that role.
Kuhn is currently struggling for goals, making little impact at the top end of the pitch, and a spell in the team as a striker could help him to rebuild his confidence, before going back out to the wing.
With the league all-but-secured – 13 points clear with six games to go – Rodgers can afford to experiment and try new things with the team, which is why unleashing the German in a brand new role could be worth trying.
Appearances
27
10
xG
9.59
2.09
xG per 90
0.53
0.24
Goals
10
3
Big chances created
10
5
Assists
8
1
As you can see in the table above, the Celtic star has outperformed his xG in both the Premiership and the Champions League this season, which speaks to his ability to efficiently finish chances that come his way.
This suggests that the potential may be there for him to be an effective centre-forward with the team creating chances for him in central positions, rather than him needing to create openings for himself by coming in off the right flank.
The Celtic star, as shown in the clip above, is capable of providing exceptional finishes and Rodgers must, now, offer him the chance to showcase his finishing quality as a centre-forward in one of the team’s upcoming matches, in an attempt to help him get back to his goalscoring best for the Scottish giants.
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