Never mind Ajeti: Celtic dynamo who won mammoth 13 duels was the real hero for Lennon – opinion

After coming on as a second-half substitute against Dundee United, Celtic new boy Albian Ajeti introduced himself to Scottish football by firing home the winner seven minutes from time.

The Switzerland international had just joined from Premier League side West Ham earlier this month in a deal worth around £4.5m, with Neil Lennon quick to sing his praises after the match. The Hoops boss said: “He’s had an early impact already and that’s great for us. He’s not match fit, he’s not had a lot of football in the last 12 months. But he did great to keep the ball alive for the goal and his link-up play was good as well. It’s brilliant for him.”

But whilst Ajeti may have been the match-winner on the day, it was Ryan Christie who arguably stole the show for Celtic, making sure Dundee United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist earned his pay-cheque.

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As per Sofascore, out of the 23 total shots that Celtic took, nine of them were taken by Christie, with three finding the target, three being blocked by some desperate defending and another three missing their mark.

The 25-year-old was unlucky not to get onto the score-sheet at least once, with Siegrist pulling off a stunning save to deny a strike destined for the top corner. And of course, it was Christie’s strike that eventually led to Ajeti’s goal.

But aside from that, the Scotland international was a real live-wire throughout the match, completing all eight of his attempted dribbles – to put that incredible statistic into context, if you combined the rest of Christie’s teammates, as well as the entire Dundee United side, you would only get seven successful dribbles.

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The attacking midfielder wasn’t shy of doing his defensive work either, making three tackles and winning a mammoth 13 duels out of the 16 that he contested on the ground.

It was an all-action display from the Celtic ace, and whilst Ajeti may be taking home the plaudits, it was he who was the real hero for Lennon on Saturday.