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67 Hail Hail has picked out three Celtic players that can be happy with their performance against Stuttgart, as well as one who may be disappointed.
Celtic recorded a win in Germany for the first time in the club’s history as Luke McCowan’s historic goal after 30 seconds was enough to beat Stuttgart 1-0 on the night.
The Hoops did lose 4-2 on aggregate but didn’t disgrace themselves ahead of a busy run of games and Martin O’Neill will be pleased with the performance of some of the fringe players who were given a chance.
Celtic’s Europa League run comes to an end despite the win against Stuttgart 🥲
But who gets your man of the match from that spirited performance?
Celtic’s three winners against StuttgartViljami Sinisalo
With Kasper Schmeichel finished at the top level, now is the time for Viljami Sinisalo to prove that he can handle the pressure of being the number one.
Sinisalo started against Stuttgart and was brilliant between the sticks. He made six saves on the night and looked confident coming off his line.
The 24-year-old said that it was up to the manager to decide on whether he keeps his place or returns to the bench against Rangers on Sunday but based on his display in Germany, it should be a no-brainer.
Luke McCowan
What a brilliant performance from McCowan in the middle of the park.
He took his goal magnificently in a move that we saw plenty of during his Dundee days.
Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images
Performances have been hit and miss from McCowan but, in fairness, he has spent a large portion of this season playing out of position on the wing.
This time, in his favoured role, he showed all of the traits you would expect from someone as hardworking as him and he has to start at Ibrox.
Junior Adamu
It’s been a slow start for Junior Adamu ever since he announced himself to the Celtic faithful with a backheel goal against Dundee in the Scottish Cup.
Adamu was given the nod to start in Germany and made an instant impact, laying on the assist for McCowan’s goal.
Although he didn’t score himself, the forward was lively and defended from the front. He looks better than Tomas Cvancara right now and has a good chance of starting ahead of him on Sunday.
What did you make of Junior Adamu’s performance against Stuttgart?
Does he deserve to start against Rangers?
Credit: Getty Images/Sebastian Widmann Celtic’s loser against StuttgartKasper Schmeichel
On a night of very few negatives, it is Schmeichel who is likely to be the only one walking away feeling slightly disappointed.
Plenty of criticism has been thrown Schmeichel’s way and the 39-year-old was finally dropped to the bench.
As the model professional, he will be delighted that his deputy played so well, but knows it is likely to come at his expense once again in this weekend’s Glasgow derby.
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