Celtic came out on top in an entertaining Scottish League Cup final on Sunday at Hampden Park as they won on penalties against their Glasgow rivals.
The Hoops found themselves 1-0 down in the first half after Greg Taylor’s loose pass in the middle of the park allowed Rangers to break and eventually find the back of the net through Nedim Bajrami.
Brendan Rodgers’ side responded well in the second half, though, and Taylor attempted to make up for his error by scoring a deflected effort from the edge of the box, before Daizen Maeda raced clear on goal to score a second.
Mohamed Diomande bundled in an equaliser for the Gers, only for Celtic to bounce back again to take the lead through Nicolas Kuhn with three minutes of normal time left.
Danilo came off the back to score for Rangers a minute after Kuhn’s strike, however, with a close-range header that took the match to extra-time, with the Hoops then going on to win on penalties after a goalless extra 30 minutes.
Despite lifting the trophy at Hampden Park, it was far from a perfect display from the Hoops and there were a number of underwhelming performers, including central midfielder Reo Hatate.
Reo Hatate's performance against Rangers
The Japan international was selected to start in the middle of the park alongside captain Callum McGregor and Portuguese dynamo Paulo Bernardo, with Arne Engels left on the bench and Luke McCowan ineligible to feature after playing for Dundee early on in the competition.
Hatate had an opportunity to really stamp his mark in the cup final and show that he can be the main man for Celtic in midfield, a role that has not really been filled consistently since Matt O’Riley’s move to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer.
Unfortunately, it was an average – at best – performance from the 27-year-old midfielder, who landed a rating of 6/10 from the Daily Record because he ‘lost’ the battle with Diomande and Nicolas Raskin.
Football FanCast published an article after the match suggesting that Rodgers must instantly drop him from the starting XI after this poor display.
His performances in the Scottish Premiership have also left a bit to be desired, as the midfield maestro has had mixed success in the top-flight.
Goals
4
2nd
Assists
0
5th
Tackles per game
1.1
2nd
Interceptions per game
0.3
4th
Dribbled past per game
0.7x
2nd
As you can see in the table above, Hatate has offered quality as a goalscorer but has yet to register a single assist in the division in his 15 appearances.
These statistics also show that opponents find it too easy to dribble past him and that he rarely reads the play to make interceptions, although the Japanese whiz is strong when it comes to making tackles.
He is not the only player who should be dropped from the starting XI after the cup final, though, as Kyogo Furuhashi must also be ruthlessly binned from the team.
Kyogo Furuhashi's performance against Rangers
The Japanese marksman was selected ahead of Adam Idah to lead the line for the Scottish giants at Hampden Park from the start, and failed to justify his inclusion in the side.
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Podcast Russell Bryce claimed that the forward was “non existent again” in the first-half and it was a fair comment, as his only involvement was a weak effort from a difficult angle that went straight into Jack Butland’s gloves at the near post.
Kyogo’s only other involvement before being substituted for Idah in the 76th minute was failing to get on the end of a brilliant ball across the box from Alistair Johnston at the near post, for what appeared to be a tap-in if he had made contact with it.
The Daily Record handed him a 5/10 rating for his performance, even lower than Hatate’s, and wrote that the Rangers defence did not give him any space to work with.
Unfortunately, Kyogo being kept quiet by opposition defenders has not been a rarity this season, as the Japan international has been far from at his best in the Premiership or the Champions League.
Why Kyogo Furuhashi must be dropped
Rodgers must ruthlessly drop the Celtic lightweight from the starting XI after a couple of underwhelming performances in a row from the experienced forward.
Kyogo started the 0-0 draw with Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League last week and struggled badly, losing 100% (4/4) of his duels, completing just three passes, and failing to register a shot on goal.
The striker has started five of his six appearances in Europe this season and recorded one goal from 2.36 xG, whilst also losing a whopping 69% of his duels. This shows that he has been incredibly wasteful in front of goal and defenders have found it too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.
His performances in the Premiership have had similar issues, as the 29-year-old centre-forward has failed to totally convince in or out of possession for the Scottish giants so far this season.
Appearances
14
Starts
10
Goals
6
Big chances missed
14
Ground duel success rate
41%
Aerial duel success rate
20%
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo has averaged less than a goal every other game in the top-flight, and has missed more ‘big chances’ than he has started games.
These statistics show that the Japanese dud has been very wasteful with the high-quality opportunities that have been created for him by his teammates, as he is yet to recapture the form that saw him score 27 times in 31 starts in the 2022/23 campaign.
His work off the ball has also been underwhelming out of possession, losing the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air, which means that both sides of his game have been disappointing.
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Therefore, after Kyogo’s poor display in the cup final, Rodgers must brutally bin him from the starting XI in favour of Idah against Dundee United next weekend.