Voltar
Celtic could do with Kelechi Iheanacho’s goals, presence, calmness and genius right now, given the struggles.
On Sunday, as Celtic were beaten by Falkirk, Martin O’Neill was annoyed by how his players couldn’t hit a barn door, as Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain won Man of the Match after pulling off an extraordinary nine saves.
To add to the misery, Kasper Hogh was introduced into the action in the second half, but he hardly got a look in, as he has now failed to score in 15 of his last 16 games for Celtic.
In the meantime, Iheanacho, albeit in Turkey’s second tier, is doing the opposite, but over the weekend, his ridiculous goalscoring run ended.
Iheanacho went on a record-breaking run of goals for Bursaspor. Nobody, in the history of top-flight Turkish football, had scored in 12 consecutive matches.
But on Sunday, as Celtic were suffering at the hands of Falkirk, their former player was stopped by Bandirma Spor.
Despite Iheanacho not scoring, his side still secured a comfortable 3-0 win, as they sit top of Turkey’s second tier amid their bid to return to the top flight.
As Celtic found out with Iheanacho’s goals, they are worth their weight in gold, because many of his strikes proved to be title-defining, including that penalty against Motherwell at Fir Park.
| Club | Games | Starts | 90 minutes completed | Goals | Assists |
| Celtic | 24 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| Bursaspor | 13 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
The issue with Iheanacho at Celtic was his fitness and injuries. You just couldn’t trust him, and he spent far too much time in the treatment room.
Perhaps the drop in intensity at Bursaspor has helped him complete eight 90-minute matches, after only completing two in the colours of Celtic.
But with Hogh struggling so badly, it will only continue the argument that Celtic should have done everything in their power to keep the Nigerian star.