Ange Postecoglou criticises ‘wasteful’ Celtic despite victory over Aberdeen

Ange Postecoglou watched Jota clinch Celtic’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen with a quality strike but claimed the Portuguese winger was “one of the main culprits” in a “wasteful” Hoops performance.

Celtic got the defence of their cinch Premiership title off to an ideal start at Parkhead when defender Stephen Welsh headed in a Matt O’Riley corner in the third minute.

However, after dominating most of the game thereafter, it took a terrific 20-yard drive in the 75th minute from Jota, whose loan move to Celtic from Benfica last season was made permanent in the summer for a reported fee of £6.5million, to seal the points.

On the day the league flag was unfurled, the Hoops boss said: “There is no doubt the boy has talent and he is determined to be the best footballer he can be.

“But he was one of the main culprits in the last 15 minutes of the first half.

“He was wasteful with the ball and he gave away possession when he didn’t have to. These are the kind of things we have to avoid.

“We have to keep these guys on track and not let them get away from the things we want them to do.

“The good thing is he addressed it at half-time and in the second half, not just his goal but his general play was really good.

“I didn’t shout or give him a going over. At the same time you need to address the issues at hand.

“He was dangerous, threatening and doing the team stuff as well. You can’t just dismiss the last 15 minutes of the first half.

“There are lessons in there as other teams may punish you in that period.

“In the second half we addressed it and we finished the game strongly.

“It was a solid performance, but we were just wasteful in front of goal. I was disappointed because I thought we could have been a lot more clinical

“Sometimes you can