Celtic 4 Livingston 2: Instant reaction to the burning issues

Maeda opened the scoring early on and the home fans settled back for a procession, but Livingston shocked the cup holders by hitting back almost immediately through a composed Daniel MacKay finish.

The visitors shot themselves in the foot though as dithering from Cristian Montano eventually allowed Maeda to nod the hosts back in front, before Tete Yengi sensationally drew Livingston level once more after the break with another well-taken goal.

Maeda wasn’t finished there though, tapping home Celtic’s and his own third to bring up his hat-trick, before Kyogo Furuhashi put some gloss on the scoreline by racing in behind to slam home in stoppage time.

Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…

MAEDA SHINES TO DRAG CELTIC OVER THE LINE

The winger can sometimes be hit and miss, but when he is on his game – as he was here – then he is a massive handful for any defence. And ultimately, his movement proved too much for Livi to live with.

He showed some impressive composure to slot home his first, not always a quality that is readily associated with Maeda, who tends to be one of those players whose finishing is better the less time he has to think about it.

He then showed good anticipation to follow in on Matt O’Riley’s shot that was palmed out by Livi goalkeeper Michael McGovern, forcing it over the line for his second, and he did brilliantly to ghost in on the blind side of Jamie Brandon to finish Tomoki Iwata’s cutback and allow his team to finally shake off the Lions with just five minutes remaining.

CELTIC’S HOME STUTTERS REAPPEAR AFTER DUNDEE DEMOLITION

Yes, Celtic were missing key men. And yes, due credit must be given to Livingston, who produced one of their best displays of the season to give their hosts such a hard time of it. But the fact it took the cup holders so long to shake off the challenge of the Premiership’s bottom side on their home patch must concern manager Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic faithful.

They started the game well enough, and got the early goal they craved, but from there on it was a hard watch for the punters who braved a chilly March afternoon to witness it. No wonder they were getting restless long before the end.

In truth, there have been far too many of these stuttering home displays peppered throughout Celtic’s season, and as they laboured through a tough second half in particular, the crushing win over Dundee here a couple of weeks ago seemed but a distant memory.

At least though, they got the job done, and there was huge relief when Maeda and then Kyogo struck the late killer blows.

CELTIC DEFENCE SHAKY WITHOUT CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS

Carter-Vickers was a late withdrawal from the Celtic squad after ‘feeling a little something’ in his hamstring in training on Saturday according to Rodgers, and it is little wonder that the Celtic manager is being cautious with his main centre back.

Their backline looks shaky whenever the American international is absent, and the partnership between Liam Scales and Stephen Welsh that was fielded here was no different, with the physicality of Yengi in particular giving Scales a real issue.

The goal that Livingston scored was hugely preventable from a Celtic point of view, with a simple ball over the top from Montano releasing Kelly into acres of space in behind. The wide man actually did well to retain his composure given how long he had to size up his finish, and he produced a peach across Joe Hart and into the far corner.

But it would have been all too easy from the perspective of Rodgers, and it wasn’t the only time during the game that the visitors caused some panic around Celtic Park by simply getting the ball in behind for their runners to chase.

It was a similar story as Livi drew themselves level for a second time, with Brandon dispossessing O’Riley and releasing Yengi in behind. O’Riley managed to get back to hold him up momentarily, but the big striker cut inside and unleashed a brilliant effort beyond Hart to stun Celtic once more.

Every Celtic fan will be desperately hoping that Carter-Vickers’ omission here was simply precautionary, with his qualities as a defender and as a leader – particularly in the absence of captain Callum McGregor – sorely missed.

NICOLAS KUHN IMPRESSES EARLY ON, BUT FADES

It is fair to say that the winger has failed to really catch the eye in these early days of his Celtic career, but he was handed an opportunity to impress here and he seemed intent on grasping it.

He was operating from the right but he didn’t always favour the option of cutting inside onto his stronger left foot, which kept his direct opponent Montano guessing. Twice in the early stages he got down the outside and in behind the Livi defence, but couldn’t quite find the killer cross.

When he did cut inside the next time he received the ball though, he did manage to unlock Livi and find Maeda arriving late at the back post with a brilliant pick out, and the Japanese did the rest by finishing coolly under McGovern.

From then on though Kuhn rather drifted out of the action, and when he did get involved, his final ball was left wanting, and there was more of a spark on the Celtic right when James Forrest came on to replace the German with around 15 minutes to go.

All in all, it was another mixed bag from Kuhn, but at least there were some fleeting glimpses of what he can bring to the party.

LIVINGSTON HAVE UNEARTHED A DIAMOND IN TETE YENGI

Quite apart from his brilliantly taken goal, Livi striker Yengi put in a hugely impressive display, and was a constant menace to the Celtic defence.

It would be far too easy though to focus solely on his physical attributes, as much as they do allow him to give defenders like Scales and Welsh nightmares. The lad can play too, showing a deft touch and neat footwork when it was played up to him on the deck.

He now has five goals for the Lions since his January arrival, and if Davie Martindale’s men are to have any chance of pulling off the great escape at the bottom of the table, it is in Yengi where they can find that hope.