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3 TAKEAWAYS FROM CELTIC'S VICTORY OVER ST JOHNSTONE

Celtic fans would have felt a little more comfortable with the club's current standing as they convincingly dispatched Craig Levein's St Johnstone side 3-1.


Celtic may have started slow in the first few moments of the game, but they quickly got going in the second-half and, in truth, it could have been a far more convincing scoreline had St Johnstone not been putting their bodies on the line with a number of goal-line clearances as well as a few goals being ruled out by the officials for offside.


Often this season, Celtic have turned in Jekyll and Hyde performances, but this one was far more convincing and it will restore a bit more hope to Celtic supporters. The postponement of Rangers' trip to Dens Park meant that Celtic will remain at the top of the table through the international break, albeit with their arch-rivals having a game in hand.


Here are A Celtic State of Mind's three takeaways from yesterday's victory over the Saints:



Kyogo back to his old self


It has been a strange season for the Japanese forward, with most Celtic supporters and pundits being in full agreement that Brendan Rodgers hasn't been able to get the same quality out of Furuhashi as Ange Postecoglou did, and the numbers reflect that.


He has been starved of service far too often this season, but yesterday we saw a performance from the diminutive striker that was incredibly similar to the Kyogo Furuhashi of old that the support fell in love with in the first place.


He was heavily involved in the game as he linked up well with Nicolas Kühn throughout the game, and he could well have had a hat-trick had he not strayed offside on a few occasions.


Kyogo was getting high-quality service from the wide areas and his midfielders, and if his teammates can continue to provide the 29-year-old with these sorts of chances, it will benefit Celtic heavily in the latter stages of the season.



Kühn Impresses Again


After some early displays for Celtic that had alarm bells ringing over his true quality, Nicolas Kühn has been making an effort over the last two fixtures to silence those early doubters.


He turned in another electric and creative display down the right flank, providing an excellent cross for Kyogo Furuhashi's goal and as a reward for his efforts he grabbed his first ever Parkhead strike, as Furuhashi turned provider to lay a chance on a plate for the German.



No Carter-Vickers = Sloppy defending


Celtic have been shipping goals on a consistent basis since the winter break, only keeping one clean sheet since returning to action.


A massive part of that has been the injury-plagued season of Cameron Carter-Vickers, with the American having been in and out of the team with injuries for most of this campaign.


Back into the team today, he was replaced late in the game and immediately Celtic looked more vulnerable at the back with Tomoki Iwata and Stephen Welsh playing as the centre-backs, conceding a poor goal late in the game.


This only further highlighted the importance of Carter-Vickers remaining fit at this stage in the season, and the international break may have come at the perfect time for the former Spurs man to work on his fitness before the trip to Almondvale at the end of the month.


James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie

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