Archive September 28, 2025

Brendan Rodgers has recently been dealing a lot with his selection of the starting front three for Celtic.

That contrasts favorably with recent seasons, when they had stick-on roles like Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Liel Abada, for example.

The champions are still looking for the right balance between their current squad and their own.

It was surprising to see Kelechi Iheanacho start as striker in Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Hibernian given that he had made a significant impact in his first few starts since his unheralded arrival post-transfer window.

Daizen Maeda’s middle role was also present in the 1-1 Europa League draw with Red Star Belgrade in midweek.

However, the Japan itnernational was canceled at half-time due to Iheanacho’s scoring and positive focus.

With his match fitness and, undoubtedly, his confidence improving, the question was how to use the two wide positions in his place to the best advantage when facing a Hibs side that was determined and resolute defensively.

Maeda successfully assumed the role of the main striker following Kyogo’s departure in January.

His 33 goals last term earned him an unimaginable victory and deservedly won all of the player of the year awards.

The 27-year-old has not reached the same level as Adam Idah, despite keeping the now-deceased actor largely on the sidelines. He without a doubt believed he would play for another club, which is why.

He and Celtic’s recruitment were obviously affected by it. Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s arrival appears to indicate that they intended for him to leave.

Tounekti has hit the ground running and is currently leading the charge in the left-wing direction Maeda has most consistently held.

Balikwisha failed to succeed when facing off against Kilmarnock and has so far had little impact.

With only Yang Hyun-Jun and James Forrest in the lead role, the right side appears much more bare. The Japanese took the lead on Saturday, with Iheanacho’s arrival reducing Maeda’s need to play up top.

Rodgers confirmed to BBC Scotland prior to the game that Yang wasn’t injured when he lost to Hibs. Knowing that Iheanacho would not likely continue for the 90 minutes, he instead desired a second striker, Johnny Kenny, on the bench.

Tounekti will start on the left, at least until Jota recovers from a broken leg, when Maeda starts and Forrest returns in that wide-right role.

Yang might struggle with concentration. It appears that Balikwisha is also on the rise.

Given that Celtic did not score, the obvious response is no.

Rodgers praised the performance, citing a top defensive display from Hibs, and they did threaten enough to win the majority of games.

He claimed that despite all the metric, “we were dominant” in the game. “We just lacked that killer instinct in the box,” said one player who thought our football was really good. We played well on the pitch.

Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, both of whom were denied by the crossbar in the first half, were unfortunate at times for Celtic. Madea delivered one of those with excellent delivery and pace on a plate.

The home side would have scored at least once on a different day, as evidenced by a 3 xG.

John Collins, a former Celtic midfielder, believes Maeda is still not quite reaching his potential since revealing his desire to leave last month.

On Sportsound, Collins declared, “I don’t think you should ever make that public.” It is “a dangerous thing to do,” he said.

He has been a great servant, a great buy for Celtic, and had an incredible season last year, but football is all about today. These Celtic supporters demand a total commitment on the pitch, not just what you did last week.

“He looks jaded, in all fairness to him, but that’s what he’s been given from day one.”

Only six shots were made on target against Hibs, which is a testament to Celtic’s dominance. Iheanacho hit the net only to stumble over.

Concerning the home side’s lack of realism may be the fact that the home side only managed to score one shot on target in the 39th minute despite already striking woodwork.

Rodgers knew he needed better quality in the forward areas because they have been unusually blunt – only one of their eight Premiership goals have been scored in the first six of their six league games so far.

The rarely used envelope rule may be applied on Sunday’s Ryder Cup final day at Bethpage Black in New York due to Viktor Hovland’s neck injury.

Following Hovland’s victory over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in the Saturday morning foursomes, the issue became public.

The Norwegian made up Tyrrell Hatton to take Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon fourballs, but he withdrew.

On Saturday night, he had an MRI to assess the extent of the problem.

For the past two months, I’ve had some issues with a neck injury intermittently, according to Hovland.

“I’m going to get some treatment, and I’ll probably be okay for the singles.”

At 19:03 BST, Hovland will face Harris English in the final singles match, but if he is unable to play, the envelope rule will apply.

A sealed envelope with the name of one player is also provided when the two captains submit their Sunday singles lineup.

If a rival player’s withdrawal from the first singles match was more than 30 minutes prior to the start of the match was due to illness or an injury, the player named in the envelope would miss the singles.

Each side would receive half a point because the two players would be regarded as a pair.

A player’s match is forfeited if they withdraw less than 30 minutes before the first singles match begins.

A team captain must immediately notify the opposing captain and chief referee of any potential illness or injury to one of his players.

The names on the envelopes are only used names that are revealed.

In the event that a player had to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19, an additional envelope was used at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straights.

What happens after Hovland is withdrawn depends on the recipient’s name in the envelope.

And whoever is named would not be able to win a singles match.

If Hovland’s scheduled opponent, English, were to enter the envelope, the match would be straightforward and tiebreaker.

Since its introduction in 1979, the envelope rule has only been used twice to include players from all over Europe.

American Steve Pate was hurt in a car crash on the day before the event in 1991. Although he was able to play on Saturday, he was deemed unable to compete in the Sunday singles.

As the US won 1412-4312, English rookie David Gilford was the one who missed out on the Europe envelope when the US opened it.

Two years later, a toe infection prevented Europe’s Sam Torrance from playing on Sunday.

Surprise player: American Lanny Wadkins, who won 2112 points in eight Ryder Cups, was eliminated. Later, it became apparent that he had agreed to step down in order to prevent a more inexperienced player from having the opportunity to play. That Ryder Cup was won by the US 15-13.

A service called Ask Me Anything is dedicated to responding to your inquiries.

We want to reward your time by educating you on topics you may not otherwise understand.

The team will be able to connect you with a network of contacts, including our experts and experts, to provide you with all the information you require.

We’ll respond to your inquiries right in the BBC Sport newsroom and visit some of the world’s biggest sporting events from the backstage.

The rarely used envelope rule may be applied on Sunday’s Ryder Cup final day at Bethpage Black in New York due to Viktor Hovland’s neck injury.

Following Hovland’s victory over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in the Saturday morning foursomes, the issue became public.

The Norwegian made up Tyrrell Hatton to take Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon fourballs, but he withdrew.

On Saturday night, he had an MRI to assess the extent of the problem.

For the past two months, I’ve had some issues with a neck injury intermittently, according to Hovland.

“I’m going to get some treatment, and I’ll probably be okay for the singles.”

At 19:03 BST, Hovland will face Harris English in the final singles match, but if he is unable to play, the envelope rule will apply.

A sealed envelope with the name of one player is also provided when the two captains submit their Sunday singles lineup.

If a rival player’s withdrawal from the first singles match was more than 30 minutes prior to the start of the match was due to illness or an injury, the player named in the envelope would miss the singles.

Each side would receive half a point because the two players would be regarded as a pair.

A player’s match is forfeited if they withdraw less than 30 minutes before the first singles match begins.

A team captain must immediately notify the opposing captain and chief referee of any potential illness or injury to one of his players.

The names on the envelopes are only used names that are revealed.

In the event that a player had to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19, an additional envelope was used at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straights.

What happens after Hovland is withdrawn depends on the recipient’s name in the envelope.

And whoever is named would not be able to win a singles match.

If Hovland’s scheduled opponent, English, were to enter the envelope, the match would be straightforward and tiebreaker.

Since its introduction in 1979, the envelope rule has only been used twice to include players from all over Europe.

American Steve Pate was hurt in a car crash on the day before the event in 1991. Although he was able to play on Saturday, he was deemed unable to compete in the Sunday singles.

As the US won 1412-4312, English rookie David Gilford was the one who missed out on the Europe envelope when the US opened it.

Two years later, a toe infection prevented Europe’s Sam Torrance from playing on Sunday.

Surprise player: American Lanny Wadkins, who won 2112 points in eight Ryder Cups, was eliminated. Later, it became apparent that he had agreed to step down in order to prevent a more inexperienced player from having the opportunity to play. That Ryder Cup was won by the US 15-13.

A service called Ask Me Anything is dedicated to responding to your inquiries.

We want to reward your time by educating you on topics you may not otherwise understand.

The team will be able to connect you with a network of contacts, including our experts and experts, to provide you with all the information you require.

We’ll respond to your inquiries right in the BBC Sport newsroom and visit some of the world’s biggest sporting events from the backstage.