Celtic clinched the title for a third consecutive season – but how did Brendan Rodgers’ side beat Rangers to win the title?
The Hoops currently sit six points clear at the top of the table after beating Kilmarnock 5-0 at Rugby Park.
Celtic secured their 54th domestic title in the penultimate round – despite Philippe Clement’s side having topped the table just a month earlier.
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Highlights from Celtic’s title-locking win against Kilmarnock
You can click on the interactive graphic below to play and see how the teams are separated by just three points in the post-match schedule.
reason? The Rangers hit a slump in mid-April, averaging just one point per game in their previous five games after Game 33. Clement’s side have won just three top-flight games since the start of last month.
This downward trend can be traced back to the 2-1 defeat to Motherwell in early March, which ended a nine-game winning streak in the league.
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Scottish Premiership match highlights between Celtic and Rangers
On the contrary, the Celtics are averaging 2.6 points per game during the same period and have won their past 5 league games.
Tracking the gap by game day, the chart below reveals how the title race became more intense as the season progressed, with Rangers gradually closing the gap before slumping toward the end of the season.
The statistics show that Celtic are the worthy champions – leading the way in a range of key metrics including goals, shots, assists, possession and passing, while also scoring a league-leading 15 headers. .
Meanwhile, Rangers performed well defensively and kept more clean sheets, but were ultimately unable to beat their opponents at the top of the pitch.
Rodgers almost exclusively used a 4-3-3 formation during the season, with 21 different players at the top of the league scoring.
Despite this, his team is relatively stable, with perhaps the exception of rotating left-wing positions, with both Luis Palma and Yang Xianjun running out wide.
The chart below shows the balanced average positions throughout the season, with Callum McGregor protecting the centre-back and right-wing forward Daizen Maeda generally performing slightly better than his left-wing counterpart.
Matt O’Reilly has attracted suitors from around the world after another impressive season and has emerged as Celtic’s best player of the season in the Sky Sports Power Rankings, based on 35 Matchday statistics rank players’ form.
Centre-back Liam Scales and left-back Greg Taylor are also among the elite – they are one of four Celtic players to have played more than 2,800 minutes.
O’Reilly leads the league in assists (13), total goals scored (30), touches in the opposition penalty area (268) and possession regained in the final third (33), in addition to his He also scored 17 goals – only Lawrence Shankland has scored.
Although he mainly operates in the right center area of midfield, the shot and chance created chart below shows the danger of the Denmark international from all areas, while also creating countless long passing opportunities for teammates.
In fact, O’Reilly and Furuhashi Keigo are the main offensive forces of Celtic’s championship, scoring a total of 30 goals so far.
No player has had more quick breaks than Keigo, and the Japan international certainly benefits from O’Reilly’s defence-breaking passes.
When it comes to creativity, O’Reilly certainly stands out, creating 93 chances and 13 assists, but Parma has been particularly productive (65 chances created and 9 assists) – considering the Honduran has played less than Half that, just 1,396 minutes.
Rodgers has pushed his full-backs into higher positions this season. In fact, Taylor and Alistair Johnston completed the most passes in the final third in the team, ahead of McGregor and O’Reilly.
Both Celtic and Rangers have a higher possession rate than any other team, with an average of 44m turnovers in their own goal. Playing high requires high pressing and counter-pressing to prevent counterattacks, and Celtic excel in this regard.
O’Reilly once again leads the way in terms of pressing forward, and he leads the league in turnovers in the final third, but the Dane also makes the second-highest number of saves in midfield, behind only McGregor.
As a result of that grit, the image below shows a unique defensive stability with greater intensity at the top of the pitch – helping Rodgers’ side maintain the league’s top level of possession and reduce penetration outside of possession.
Rodgers’ return to Celtic was not universally welcomed by all fans last summer due to the manner in which he moved to Leicester City in 2019. Message: “For those of you I need convincing, I’ll see you here in May.”
May has arrived and as the statistics prove, Rodgers has delivered – Celtic are champions once again.
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