Celtic managed their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions after a 2-0 success over Partick Thistle.
This victory was largely helped by the fact that the opposition were reduced to 10 men for most of the match. Even then, Celtic are largely impressive and it is not surprising to see them lead the table by a healthy seven points going into the last eight games. Aside from this substantial lead, Celtic also have a one game in hand over second placed Aberdeen. A number of players have contributed to this immense run of form and none more so than Stefan Johansen, who is the club’s stand-in captain.
Johansen was once again brilliant against the league opponents and he continued as the captain in place of Scott Brown, who served his suspension.Johansen is one of the contenders for the Player of the Year award. Speaking about the possibility of the 24-year-old lifting this title, Celtic manager Ronny Deila stated that a number of players have been excellent this year and it is difficult to pick one over the other. The manager has recalled that the contribution from players like Scott Brown, Craig Gordon, and Nir Bitton should not be forgotten either.
“There are many good players at Celtic. The best players in Scotland have been here but it’s up to others to pick the Player of the Year.It’s hard for me to do it – and it’s not right.Stefan is one of those doing very well but there are a lot of them. People can talk about Craig Gordon, Virgil van Dijk, Jason Denayer, Scott Brown and Nir Bitton.It’s up to others to pick. I just see that a lot of our guys have been performing well. I don’t want to think about it like Stefan being one of our biggest assets in terms of money,” said Deila.