Gustaf Lagerbielke found himself starting on the bench for Celtic’s 3-0 win over Dundee at Paradise yesterday afternoon.
The Swedish centre-back was dropped to give on-loan Liverpool defender, Nat Phillips, some minutes in his legs but after coming on as a second-half substitute, the 45 minutes he produced against Dundee may have been enough to force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI to face Feyenoord on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old was rated an impressive 7.14 for his second-half showing. The Swede also made four tackles as the Hoops kept the Dundee attackers at bay and earned yet another clean sheet.
Lagerbielke also had a 92% passing accuracy in the match which is vital to Rodgers’ patient build-up play from the back. [Who Scored]
The central defender also had two shots on goal, two clearances and one interception as he gave Brendan Rodgers a well-rounded performance in the win over Dundee.
The only issue for Rodgers now is who he picks to start against Feyenoord at the heart of the Celtic defence.
You would have to imagine Nat Phillips is right up there. Although he far from impressed in his 45-minute outing on Saturday, there is no denying Phillips has the quality to help Celtic progress in the Champions League.
He has big game experience in the competition with Liverpool and would offer a cool head in the centre of the Hoops defence.
Rodgers will need to decide if he should stick with Scales or go with the Swede to partner Phillips. Neither have any Champions League experience but Lagerbielke does have experience against Feyenoord after he made a cameo appearance in a 5-0 drubbing that Elfsborg suffered two seasons ago.
Lagerbielke certainly has done his case no harm with his performance on Saturday. It’s over to Rodgers to decide now if he goes with the Swedish international or the Irishman as he looks to take something away from Holland other than a defeat.
In other news, ‘Has got a future’: John Hartson says £3.75m player still has a role at Celtic despite Champions League snub