Forget Maeda: Celtic "all-rounder" who lost the ball 20x will've given Ange a headache - opinion

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side went into Sunday’s fixture against Dundee knowing that a win would see them extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table, as their Glasgow rivals had dropped two points away at Dundee United earlier in the day.

And, despite falling behind to the team sitting bottom of the top-flight in the first half of the fixture, as well as the Dark Blues drawing level in the second half after Giorgos Giakoumakis had given the hosts the lead with a quickfire double shortly before the break, the Greek international’s completion of his hattrick in the 86th minute ultimately proved enough for Celtic to get over the line – with the game finishing 3-2 in the Hoops’ favour.

However, as is perhaps to be expected after such a close run encounter against an outfit who have picked up just 21 points so far this season, a number of the Bhoys players were far from their best on Saturday, with Daizen Maeda – despite a tireless performance on the left-wing – proving wasteful in front of goal, while centre-back duo Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers were also rather sloppy at the back.

Although, it will undoubtedly be central midfielder Matt O’Riley most disappointed with his performance in the 3-2 victory, as the 21-year-old’s display was by far his worst since his £1.5m move to Parkhead in January.

Despite having averaged a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.76 over his five previous Premiership outings – scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating three big chances for his teammates in these fixtures – the former England U18 international was well below-par over his 79 minutes on the pitch on Sunday.

Indeed, while the £405k-rated midfielder did complete 42 passes – one of which was