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There is a tag that is already being slapped right on Haissem Hassan’s face by various pundits in the media.
Hassan has only been in Glasgow for a few months, yet he is already being called out for his defensive work, or lack of it, including Chris Sutton labelling him a ‘disgrace’ on Sky Sports.
On Sunday, Celtic were beaten by Falkirk, with Hassan starting on the right wing, making the ball talk, creating chances, and riling up the crowd, but his teammates not being able to finish off their dinner.
But most of what was being said by the Sky pundits was Hassan’s defensive work rate, his unwillingness to track back, rather than focusing on what he is good at in the final third, so 67 Hail Hail had a look at his stats from the game at the Falkirk Stadium.
Make no bones about it, Hassan knows how to make the ball talk, he moves it with such elegance and his direct and forward-thinking in his approach.
Celtic have really lacked out wide in recent times, but you can tell by the eye that Hassan has some magic at his feet; he just needs to polish a few areas, including his own end product.
Not many Celtic players can hold their head up high after the defeat to Falkirk, but Hassan was the highest-rated player by Sofascore, earning himself a very impressive 8.3 for his efforts.
In fact, only Scott Bain, who earned 10/10 from Sofascore, was rated higher by both teams, and he was awarded Man of the Match for producing a remarkable nine saves during the match.
Nonetheless, these were Hassan’s stats from Celtic’s latest defeat, including producing four key passes during the game.
| Total shots | Passes in the opposition half | Big chances created | Key passes | Accurate crosses | Successful dribbles | Progressive carries |
| 2 | 18/23 (78%) | 1 | 4 | 5/7 | 6 | 8 |
That’s Hassan’s attacking stats. He is doing his job. Attacking that final third like Celtic fans want, with energy, entertainment and enthusiasm.
Yes, you would like a goal from Hassan himself, but he is constantly getting on that byline, beating his man, including six successful dribbles and five accurate crosses, but his teammates are not able to finish the job.
But what Hassan is being accused of his a lack of desire going back. There is no doubt that he is lazy in his efforts and much slower to react. You can see that for yourself when he is trying to help out Colby Donovan.
The former La Liga player made zero defensive contributions against Falkirk, but he did win an impressive ten ground duels out of 13.
Yes, that’s an issue, but pundits need to stop focusing on that as the main topic of discussion when talking about Hassan.
Celtic finally have an exciting winger they can work with and take to the next level, but unfortunately, he is working in a broken environment, and he will drown along with everybody else.