Celtic made it through to the final of the League Cup on Saturday after they produced a staggeringly impressive performance against Aberdeen at Hampden Park.
The Dons had been unbeaten across all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign prior to this cup clash, with their lost competitive loss coming against the Hoops on penalties in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup back in April.
These two sides, of course, also met in the Scottish Premiership earlier this season when Brendan Rodgers’ side chucked away a 2-0 lead at half-time to draw the game 2-2, with both teams level on points in the top-flight as it stands.
The semi-final clash at Hampden Park on Saturday, however, looked like a complete mismatch as the Dons collapsed and Celtic ran out comfortable winners.
Cameron Carter-Vickers opened the scoring with a towering header from a corner, before Daizen Maeda set up Kyogo Furuhashi to score in an almost-empty net just three minutes later.
Daizen Maeda then scored a hat-trick of relatively simple finishes and Nicolas Kuhn rattled in a fantastic curling effort off the crossbar and in to complete the scoring.
One player who may not be too pleased with just how easy the game was without him in from the start is left-back Greg Taylor, who may be in danger of permanently losing his place.
Greg Taylor's form this season
The Scotland international was named on the bench from the start for the semi-final clash and came on for the final 27 minutes of the match, with Celtic scoring one of their six goals in that time.
Taylor missed 17 days with a hamstring injury in October and that provided others with an opportunity to shine in his place, despite a solid start to the season from the former Kilmarnock man.
He has started seven matches in the Premiership this term and contributed with 1.3 key passes per game and three assists from an offensive perspective.
Defensively, the full-back has won 53% of his duels but lost 67% of his aerial battles in the division, whilst he has also been dribbled past 0.7 times per game on average.
Meanwhile, the defender has struggled badly in Europe for the Scottish giants, with less-than-convincing performances in the Champions League this term.
Appearances
2
Sofascore rating
6.35
Key passes per game
0.5
Duel success rate
44%
Ground duel success rate
40%
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.0
As you can see in the table above, Taylor has been a lightweight in his duels in Europe against SK Slovan and Borussia Dortmund, whilst offering little in the way of creativity.
Celtic conceded a whopping six goals in his 135 minutes on the pitch across the two games, which works out as a goal conceded every 22 and a half minutes with him on the field.
This shows that he is far from undroppable and that is why he should be concerned by the form of Alex Valle, his competition at left-back, in recent weeks.
How much Celtic signed Alex Valle for
The Scottish giants swooped to sign the Spanish defender on a season-long loan from Barcelona during the summer transfer window and reportedly agreed to pay a £1.2m to cover his wages.
Rodgers moved to bring in the 20-year-old starlet after he had impressed on loan with Levante in the second division of Spanish football during the 2023/24 campaign.
Valle played 29 times in LaLiga 2 last season and averaged 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst winning 56% of his duels, which spoke to his defensive qualities.
However, he failed to register a single assist and only averaged 0.6 key passes per game, less than one chance created per match on average, and there may have been a concern that he would not be able to offer as much offensively as Taylor does.
That has not turned out to be an issue, though, as Valle has hit the ground running in Scotland and his performances have been strong enough to potentially convince Rodgers to permanently ditch his favourite.
Why Alex Valle should replace Greg Taylor
Taylor has been one of the Northern Irish manager’s favourites since he returned to Parkhead last year, starting 42 of the club’s 48 Premiership games since the start of last season.
The Scottish full-back, who once claimed that he has improved “insane amounts” during his time in Glasgow, may lose that status because of Valle’s impressive displays.
Against Aberdeen on Saturday, the Spaniard lined up at left-back from the start and was awarded a player rating of 8/10 by GlasgowWorld, a score only bettered by Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda – who both landed 10/10 ratings.
His dynamic runs from left-back and his solid defensive work provided balance alongside Maeda down the left flank, as the Japanese star scored a hat-trick and helped out defensively with his pressing and tracking back.
Valle has also made the most of his opportunities in the Premiership for Celtic since his move on loan from Barcelona, which is another reason why he should permanently replace Taylor as the first-choice left-back moving forward.
Appearances
7
4
Assists
3
2
Key passes per game
1.3
1.8
Dribbled past
5x
0x
Ground duel success rate
65%
60%
Aerial duel success rate
33%
47%
As you can see in the table above, Valle has offered more creativity than the Scotsman, relative to how many appearances they have made, and been more reliable defensively.
The Barcelona loanee has not been dribbled past a single time by an opposition winger in the Premiership this season, whilst the former Kilmarnock man has been dribbled past five times, which suggests that forwards have had more joy up against the Rodgers favourite.
Valle, whilst still not perfect in this area, has also won a much higher percentage of his aerial duels and, thus, can offer more as a defensive presence from set-pieces and from crosses to the back post.
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Therefore, the 20-year-old defender should permanently replace Taylor in the starting XI because his recent performances suggest that he could offer more in and out of possession for the Hoops.