Celtic player ratings vs St Mirren as substitute earns massive 9/10 in clinical Paisley win

Celtic player ratings vs St Mirren as substitute earns massive 9/10 in clinical Paisley win

Celtic extended their lead at the summit of the Premiership as they took one step closer to the title after a hard-earned victory over St Mirren.

St Mirren probably had the better of the first half an hour of the game, but it was Jeffrey Schlupp’s fierce and accurate left-footed drive that gave the Hoops the lead.

The Buddies equalised via Declan John’s tremendous free-kick before Celtic managed to get their noses in front via Arne Engels’ penalty.

Daizen Maeda won the spot-kick after he was fouled recklessly by St Mirren wing-back Ryan Alebiosu, as Celtic went into the break 2-1 ahead – perhaps undeservedly.

Killian Phillips’ unorthodox finish got St Mirren back on level terms, but the brilliant Yang Hyun-jun and the inevitable Maeda secured the three points as Celtic won 4-2.

It was a challenging evening under the lights in Paisley but Brendan Rodgers and his men are now a mammoth 16 points clear at the top of the Premiership.

67 Hail Hail deliver you the Celtic player ratings vs St Mirren below.

Celtic player ratings vs St Mirren

Kasper Schmeichel – 6

Made a huge save to deny Toyosi Olusanya with the scoreline at 0-0. Could do nothing about Declan John’s excellent free-kick or Killian Phillips’ unorthodox finish.

Alistair Johnston – 6

Got forward well and made underlapping runs in attacking areas. Poor defensive header before St Mirren equalised to make it 2-2.

Cameron Carter-Vickers – 6

Pretty solid despite being part of a defence that conceded two goals. Trusty and Scales weren’t convincing today and that doesn’t help the American.

Auston Trusty – 4

Was only on the pitch for 25 minutes as a head knock that drew blood forced him off for Liam Scales.

Jeffrey Schlupp – 8

Quick, strong and good going forward. Scored his first Celtic goal with a sweet strike that rattled off the post before it went in. Could have done better to prevent the cross before St Mirren made it 2-2. Assisted Yang’s second goal with a fantastic delivery.

Callum McGregor (C) – 5

Made amends for his poor performance against Hibs last weekend with a goal versus Aberdeen – but his usual high standards dropped again today. He is rarely subbed off but that was his fate after 65 minutes.

Reo Hatate – 7

Made some good runs in the box and worked hard in midfield. His usual invention was largely missing in the first-half but he improved dramatically in the second period.

Arne Engels – 6

Dispatched his spot-kick with calmness and composure just before half-time. Decent performance but probably not creative enough in open play.

Daizen Maeda – 7

Won the penalty to put Celtic 2-1 in front before the interval. A relatively quiet evening for the Japanese speedster until his excellently taken goal for his side’s fourth goal. Undoubtedly the Premiership’s player of the year.

Nicolas Kuhn – 5

Declan John and Richard Taylor combined well defensively to keep Kuhn pretty quiet on the right wing. Not his best night in the green and white hoops.

Adam Idah – 5

Handed another opportunity from the start but, once again, failed to impress. In fairness to the Irishman, Celtic were not their usual creative force and he wasn’t serviced well enough before he was subbed off.

Liam Scales (sub) – 4

Came on for Trusty in the first-half. His challenge led to St Mirren equalising via a free-kick with Olusanya and Mandron giving him a really tough time afterwards.

Jota (sub) – 5

Outshone by his fellow substitute winger Yang. Didn’t see enough of the ball to impress much.

Yang (sub) – 9

Another big contribution made by the South Korean having scored with a header just three minutes after coming off the bench. Could have notched a brace if he had kept himself onside. It’s now seven goal contributions in seven games for Yang.

Luke McCowan (sub) – 6

Really lively after entering the field in the second period. Got himself into some advanced attacking areas and hit the post from distance.

Johnny Kenny (sub) – 3

Not enough time to make an impact.