10 duels won, 86% passing accuracy… Celtic’s unsung hero vs Dundee

Celtic’s nervy win over Dundee helped keep the team three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership this week.

A James Forrest double was enough to secure a win in The City of Discovery but what the Celtic fans actually discovered is that this team has what it takes to grind out results at this stage of the season.

I don’t know about you but I would take wins like yesterday for the remaining four Games if it meant Celtic being crowned champions at the end of the season.

Because that is all that matters. With James Forrest grabbing all the headlines, there was another player whose Dens Park performance went under the radar.

Which is a shame considering the amount of criticism he has been getting from the Celtic fans recently.

Liam Scales was superb in Celtic win over Dundee

The Irish defender was and has been the subject of much criticism this season as a weakness in Celtic’s left side of the defence has been exposed on a number of occasions under Brendan Rodgers.

And whilst Liam Scales has been excellent for much of this season, he does seem to be lacking in confidence at the moment.

But against Dundee, the Republic of Ireland international was much improved and had it not been for Forrest, he may well have been Celtic’s man-of-the-match.

Rated 8.0 by Fotmob, Scales was Celtic’s best player at Dundee just behind Forrest at 8.9. In 90 minutes, the Irish defender made 88 passes with an accuracy of 86%.

Described as ‘unbelievable‘ by James McFadden earlier this season, Scales also created two chances, had a shot on goal and made 15 passes into Dundee’s final third.

But it was his defensive work that really stood out. Criticised for last week’s performance against Aberdeen, Scales looked a lot more assured and comfortable beside Cameron Carter-Vickers at Dens Park.

Winning ten duels, making seven defensive actions and seven ball recoveries, Scales was brilliant at the back.

And, most importantly, he won 9 out of 13 aerial battles after being blamed for his role in both of Aberdeen’s equalisers last weekend.

Scales also made five clearances and one interception as he helped Celtic leave Dundee with all three points intact.

If Scales can put in more performances of this ilk, the Celtic’s chances of retaining the title will increase massively between now and the end of the season.