A well-executed gameplan allowed Hibs to stifle champions Celtic at Easter Road on Saturday.
Nick Montgomery’s side produced a disciplined display in stark contrast to the error-strewn performance which ended in a 4-0 defeat at Ibrox just a week prior. Celtic were unable to find their way past Hibs’ well-drilled 4-4-2, with a week of hard graft on the training pitch helping to allay fears that Montgomery’s preferred setup would leave his team too open against the Premiership’s top sides.
Martin Boyle had the best chance for the hosts, volleying over the bar from an inch-perfect Jordan Obita cross, while James Forrest hit the bar for Celtic, with Daizen Maeda being denied from close range by David Marshall in the first half.
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So, how did Hibs grind out a valuable point against the league leaders? With the aid of our partners at StatsBomb, we delve into the stats behind the 90 minutes.
Defensive tactics prove effective
Montgomery did not deviate too significantly from the formation which he has deployed from day one, selecting a back four of Lewis Miller, Will Fish, Rocky Bushiri and Obita. Jimmy Jeggo and Joe Newell continued in midfield, with Elie Youan on the left and Jair Tavares brought in on the opposite flank. That allowed Montgomery to shift Boyle into a central striking role, with Dylan Vente playing off him.
When Celtic had the ball – which was most of the time – Hibs dropped into two tight banks of four, with Vente playing slightly deeper than Boyle. The Dutch striker was tasked with staying close to Callum McGregor in order to prevent the Celtic captain dictating the tempo of the game.
Out of possession, Tavares and Youan would tuck in to provide support to the midfield two, and help deny Celtic space through the middle of the pitch. Even when the Parkhead side did manage to play penetrating passes through the lines, Hibs’ tight-knit shape ensured there was always a player nearby to apply pressure to the ball.
It took a significant level of hard work and concentration, but Celtic were unable to carve their way through Montgomery’s team with any regularity.
Hibs’ discipline out of possession is best displayed in the afternoon’s passing network. It gives an indication of where the match was largely played, how the team set up, and the average position in which players received and made passes.
The short distances between the midfield and forward lines illustrate Hibs’ compactness. The gap to the centre-backs is somewhat skewed by the number of passes Bushiri and Fish will have received in the 18-yard box from goal-kicks.
Compare Saturday’s passing network to that of the previous week at Ibrox, and it’s clear how much more disciplined in their shape Hibs were against Celtic. They enjoyed more possession against Rangers, but were far better organised without the ball this weekend.
When Celtic had the ball, Hibs were content to sit in their shape instead of attempting to press high. This is again evident in Saturday’s pressure map, showing that Montgomery’s only initiated an aggressive press against the visitors after they crossed the halfway line.
Hibs’ shape denied Celtic much in the way of space through the middle of the pitch, which forced them to look to wide areas where Montgomery’s side would then look to apply pressure. Celtic’s wingers were unable to have a meaningful impact on the game, with both Luis Palma and Daizen Maeda substituted with plenty time remaining in the match.
The xG trendlines below show how effective Hibs were in limiting Celtic’s opportunities, especially in the first-half. The trend line takes a fairly significant jump with the chance that fell to Maeda in the box, but it largely demonstrates how many of Celtic’s chances were low xG. Brendan Rodgers’ side had 21 shots in the match, but only four found the target, and their open play xG was 0.076.
Player focus
Lewis Miller was awarded man of the match for Hibs, and it’s difficult to argue with the decision. Palma has been highly influential in recent weeks for Celtic, but he had a subdued afternoon at Easter Road, and much of that was down to Miller’s diligence.
He made 21 pressures down the right flank, the third highest for Hibs on the day, as well as making a combined 10 tackles and interceptions. There were times, primarily in the first-half, where Liam Scales would look to play longer passes into the channel for Palma, but time and again Miller was sufficiently switched on to ensure the ball did not reach the Honduran winger.
Elsewhere, Youan registered the most pressures of any Hibs player with 27. It was not the Frenchman’s most influential afternoon in attack, but he was able to show a grittier side to his game in supporting Newell and Jeggo, who were outnumbered in the middle by Celtic’s trio of McGregor, Matt O’Riley and Paulo Bernardo.
With 23 pressures, Jeggo had a highly industrious afternoon in preventing the likes of O’Riley having a significant influence on the match. O’Riley has arguably been the best player in the country this season, but he had a quiet afternoon on Saturday, unable to pick up pockets of space as Hibs worked to deny Celtic any sort of space to operate.
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Overall, the performance was a strong counterpoint to the notion that 4-4-2 will not work against the likes of Celtic and Rangers. At Ibrox, Hibs made errors which were easily fixable without completely abandoning the setup Montgomery has drilled since his arrival from Central Coast Mariners. As David Marshall pointed out post-match, Celtic themselves defend in a 4-4-2. Problems can arise within it, but they are not there by default.
Instead, the issues against Rangers were of execution, issues that now seem to have been addressed efficiently.
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