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It was like lightning. As soon as Callum Osmand entered the field of play against Beşiktaş on Thursday night, it was lift-off for Celtic.
Osmand’s first touch resulted in Celtic equalising against the Turkish giants, before Camilo Duran’s brace also helped secure the much-needed three points in the Europa League.
TalkingPoints
Jota gets his first start in over 18 months in our predicted XI for Celtic vs Kilmarnock. What changes would you make and why?
Celtic were losing 1-0, playing dull football, hardly creating a chance, and not even being able to retain the ball when O’Neill brought on Osmand and Duran for Sebastian Tounekti and James Forrest.
In the first half, Celtic created 0 big chances, had a total of one shot at Beşiktaş’s goal, and only forced one corner.
But it all changed on its head during the second period, especially when Osmand and Duran were on the field of play.
That’s because Celtic created two big chances, had nine shots at goal, including forcing four corners. A complete and utter change.
Tounekti is the man under fire, getting booed and jeered at by his own supporters, and his numbers don’t help him out, especially when you compare them against his direct replacement.
| Player | Minutes played vs Beşiktaş | Goals | Assists | Big chances created | Key passes |
| Tounekti | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osmand | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
In the overall picture, despite Osmand playing fewer minutes, his output is far better than the winger from Tunisia.
In addition, Osmand’s Sofascore rating in the Premiership and in Europe this season is far better, further indicating that the England hopeful needs to start regularly, especially ahead of Tounekti.
| Player | Games and (Minutes) | Goals in all comps | Assists in all comps | Average Sofascore rating in the Premiership | Average Sofascore rating in the Europa League |
| Tounekti | 17 (589) | 1 | 1 | 6.81 | 6.75 |
| Osmand | 9 (359) | 3 | 1 | 6.95 | 7.30 |
After the international break, those minutes need to turn the other way; Osmand needs to be the one with more minutes than Tounekti.
If that happens, it will further increase Celtic’s chance of getting a consistent and winning run together, because the last few months haven’t made for great reading.