Celtic told the one ‘lazy’ moment which cost them vs St Johnstone as ‘sloppy’ star accused

Celtic struggled significantly in their recent away match against St Johnstone, resulting in a surprising defeat at McDiarmid Park.

This outcome was particularly unexpected as Celtic currently sits at the top of the Scottish Premiership, while St Johnstone is at the bottom of the league.

There seemed to be an element of complacency on Celtic’s part, raising concerns that they might stumble toward the title despite maintaining a 13-point lead over Rangers in second place. It was not a strong performance for Brendan Rodgers’ team, and the manager expressed his frustration at the end of the match.

Jeffrey Schlupp ‘lazy’ leg cost Celtic vs St Johnstone

One player who was not immune from criticism was Jeffrey Schlupp whose “lazy” movement cost his side the free-kick which would ultimately lead to the Saints goal on the day.

Stephen McGinn, on Sportsound duties for the afternoon, reckons the left-back has more experience than he showed in the game.

And it was a sloppy foul to give away before Celts failed to deal with Graham Carey’s set-piece which was scored by Daniels Balodis in the end.

“He’ll (Rodgers) be really frustrated when he watches it back in terms of the way they started the game, the defensive point of view, the first two balls that go into the box,” McGinn said.

“St Johnstone make first contact in them. I think the free kick that leads to the goal is really sloppy from a player of Jeffrey Schlupp’s experience.

“I think it’s just a kind of lazy leg he leaves in, St Johnstone get the foul and you give Graham Carey the opportunity to put quality ball into the box then he’s going to deliver.

“That just shows you, both managers spoke about top facing bottom, not having a divine right to win.

“You have to do things properly like the Celtic team do and have done for a number of seasons but you give teams opportunity to put it in the box and they can punish you.”

Celtic yet to make permanent Schlupp transfer decision

It remains to be seen whether or not Celtic will sign Schlupp on a permanent basis beyond the end of his loan stint later this season.

Greg Taylor will leave Celts, potentially for Dinamo, while Kieran Tierney will arrive to replace the 27-year-old on the left-hand side of the defence.

It means Celtic will need a deputy for the club legend and Schlupp, at 32, might fit the bill.

Wages might prevent Schlupp’s deal while several pundits were at odds over the Glasgow giants’ decision on Schlupp with divided opinions over his move.

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