The Hoops slipped two points behind table-topping Hearts after another goalless draw
Marcelo Saracchi of Celtic bites his jersey in frustration at full-time(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)
Celtic may have relinquished top spot to Hearts.
But James McFadden reckons there were plenty of positives to take away from Saturday’s goalless stalemate with Hibs.
The Hoops slipped two points behind the in-form Jambos after failing to take their chances – registering a whopping 26 shots on target.
Brendan Rodgers’ men bossed the game but resilient Hibs managed to walk away with a point to maintain their unbeaten start to the Premiership campaign.
Blunt Celts now find themselves in the rare position of playing catch-up to Derek McInnes’ table-toppers.
And despite falling to a fourth 0-0 draw of the campaign – with Kelechi Iheanacho passing up a flurry of opportunities – McFadden believes it was one of the Parkhead side’s better performances.
Asked Rodgers tinkered his midfield and attacking line, McFadden told Sky Sports: “Did it look a bit more balanced? Yeah, I think it did. As much as Celtic didn’t score any goals, I think it was a much better performance.
“Iheanacho should’ve scored. Could you put it down to the fact he’s not played a lot of football? Potentially.
Celtic’s Kelechi Iheanacho misses a chance from Marcelo Saracchi(Image: SNS Group)
“When you’ve got Maeda through the middle, he doesn’t link the game as well as Iheanacho does.
“He doesn’t have the striker’s instinct. When you look at Iheanacho, his hold-up play is good. He brings others into play. His movement’s really good. He always seems to be in the right position at the right time.
“Even when you get in there and miss your chances, as a striker, it’s important you keep going and I think he does that.
“There’s one he scored and he was offside but he’s in the position. So that if that cross is right, then he is going to score goals.
“They did freshen the team up and I think there was a bit more of a spark.
“Saracchi I think did really well yesterday as well. There was a bit more energy and an intent to go forward.
“But having said all of that, you have to credit Hibs as well. Defensively, they’ve not been great this season. They’ve conceded a lot of goals but it was about being solid defensively and giving yourself a base to try and catch Celtic on the counter-attack.
“They were putting blocks in, getting in the way of crosses and shots. As much as Celtic probably should’ve scored, I think you need to credit Hibs for the performance they put in.”