Brendan Rodgers told Stephen Welsh he sees the defender’s future at Celtic Park after he came in from the cold to help the champions see off a spirited Aberdeen in a 3-1 victory at Pittodrie.
Welsh replaced the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers at half-time with Celtic 2-1 ahead following an exciting opening period.
It was the centre-back’s first appearance for 10 months and he strolled through the 45 minutes with Aberdeen unable to carve out many clear-cut chances despite some decent spells of possession.
Rodgers is hoping to secure a new centre-back in the coming days after Celtic made a move for Elfsborg’s Gustaf Lagerbielke.
But he sees Welsh as a key part of his squad following the departure of Carl Starfelt to Celta Vigo.
“I thought he was excellent when he came in,” Rodgers said. “I like Stephen. I took him with me one pre-season when he was a young player because I really liked him.
“For whatever reason he hasn’t maybe played the games but he’s a Celtic boy who wants to be at the club. I want him to be at the club.
“I said to him, ‘I can’t guarantee you how many games you are going to play. You may play 40 games in the season’.
“But I know he is always ready. He trains very hard every day and he came into the game, he played with composure, and he is aggressive. It was really well done from him.”
Celtic also lost half-time substitute Reo Hatate to injury.
Rodgers said: “Cam just felt his hamstring towards the end of the half so hopefully that will not be too bad. And Reo just felt something in his calf. It’s better for precaution sake to get them off and we will see in the next couple of days how they are.”
Odin Thiago Holm replaced Hatate in the 70th minute before Yang Hyin-jun came off the bench to set up Matt O’Riley’s clincher in the 84th minute.
On the Norwegian midfielder, Rodgers said: “He is a good player, he is going to really show his talent as he goes through his time at Celtic. He is a fantastic footballer. He has got an edge, he can see a pass, can move well.
“And Yang came into the game and sets up the third goal with a great bit of skill. So I am really pleased for all the boys who came into the game and contributed.”
Aberdeen gave as good as they got in the first half but Nicky Devlin’s short headed back pass allowed Kyogo Furuhashi to fire Celtic back in front after Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.
Rodgers said: “Overall it was a very good win, some spells of good football and in those moments of adversity we stayed strong. It will be great for the spirit because we had to come through tough moments.”
Celtic have won 13 times at Pittodrie since last losing an away game against the Dons in February 2016 but Aberdeen boss Barry Robson felt his team’s performance was a forward step.
“We were really brave,” he said. “We tried to go after them and we made the game a bit basketball at times and sometimes it was survival of the fittest out there.
“It was entertaining stuff and it was dangerous at times from us but we wanted to have a go and try and win the game.
“It was probably our own doing with a couple of individual errors that cost us in the end but also the quality of the opposition.
“We tried to play in a way that is aggressive and brings speed to the game and I think we did that.
“I think that’s as good a performance you have seen from an Aberdeen team here against Celtic for a lot of years.”
Chelsea Women 0-2 Barcelona Femeni (1-2 agg): Holders reach Champions League final again
Women's Champions League holders Barcelona overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach a fourth straight final on Saturday, beating 10-player Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Emma Hayes' hopes of ending her glittering spell with the Blues by lifting the Champions League trophy were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in front of a sell-out crowd in West London.
Barca went ahead through Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati 26 minutes in, the diminutive Spaniard seeing her shot deflect off Kadeisha Buchanan to beat Hannah Hampton.
The hosts pushed for a response as Sjoeke Nuksen struck the post, but their position worsened just before the hour mark as Buchanan was perhaps harshly shown a second yellow card for her tackle on Salma Paralluelo.
Barca penned their hosts back from there and Bonmati was decisive again as they inched ahead with 15 minutes to play, drawing a foul from Ashley Lawrence and allowing Fridolina Rolfo to convert from the penalty spot.
Jonatan Giraldez's team have won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, also losing in the final to Lyon in 2021-22. They could be reunited with Les Lyonnaises in next month's final in Bilbao, as they hold a 3-2 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Bonmati caps trademark Barca performance
Aided by Buchanan's red card, Barcelona showcased their mastery of possession-based football at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 67.8 per cent of the possession and completing over twice as many passes as Chelsea (583 to 224).
Bonmati was at the centre of everything for the Blaugrana, playing a key role in both goals as well as laying on two chances for team-mates and playing 31 passes in the final third – no Chelsea player recorded more than 11.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart: Last-gasp equaliser preserves champions' unbeaten run
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen scored a last-gasp equaliser through Robert Andrich to come from two goals down and rescue a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart on Saturday.
The late drama ensured the hosts extended their record unbeaten run to 46 matches across all competitions.
Leverkusen – who play Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, are also through to the DFB-Pokal final and have already secured their first-ever league title – have now scored 16 goals in stoppage time in all competitions this season.
After a low-key first half, Leverkusen were quickly 2-0 behind after the break with Chris Fuhrich drilling in on the rebound after keeper Lukas Hradecky had palmed a shot on to the post in the 47th minute.
Deniz Undav doubled the visitors' lead 10 minutes later before Leverkusen launched their comeback attempt with Amine Adli beating keeper Alexander Nubel with a low drive in the 61st.
Nubel made three sensational saves to protect Stuttgart's slim lead, but Andrich came to the rescue deep in stoppage time to extend their impressive undefeated run.
Stuttgart are third in the table on 64 points, five behind second-placed Bayern Munich. Leverkusen are top on 81 with three matches remaining.
Everton 1-0 Brentford: Toffees join Bees in ensuring Premier League status
Everton made mathematically certain of remaining in the Premier League on Saturday as Idrissa Gueye's goal handed them a 1-0 home win over Brentford, who are also safe after Luton Town's earlier loss to Wolves.
Luton's 2-1 defeat at Molineux meant Brentford's slim fears of relegation were behind them before kick-off, while Everton knew a third straight victory would also secure their place in the top flight for next season.
The Toffees' old wastefulness was on show in the first half, but Gueye powered home 15 minutes into the second period to hand them a third Goodison Park triumph in the space of six days.
The result saw Sean Dyche's men climb above their visitors to go 15th in the table, one place and point clear of Brentford, who can also plan ahead for 2024-25 in the top flight after pulling clear of danger.
Everton were without Dominic Calvert-Lewin through illness and Beto due to the head injury he suffered against Nottingham Forest. Their absences were felt when the first chance fell their way after six minutes, Youssef Chermiti failing to get a touch on McNeil's tempting cross.
Mathias Jensen had Brentford's first sight of goal 20 minutes in following good work from Vitaly Janelt, but in-form defender Jarrad Branthwaite denied him with a huge block.
The best opportunity of a low-key opening period, though, fell to Abdoulaye Doucoure, who sent an awkward volley spinning well wide after finding space on the stroke of half-time.
Brentford should have gone ahead within five minutes of the restart, but Jordan Pickford brilliantly smothered Ivan Toney's shot when his England team-mate looked destined to tap home at the far post.
McNeil then rattled the crossbar from range as Everton turned up the pressure, and they made the breakthrough on the hour.
Gueye fired into the top-left corner after Brentford failed to clear following a goalmouth scramble, with the goal confirmed by VAR amid questions about a subjective offside.
Keane Lewis-Potter worked Pickford from the edge of the box, but that was as close as Thomas Frank's men came to an equaliser, and Everton almost had a second when James Garner's free-kick struck the bar in stoppage time.
Everton rescue act complete
When Everton welcomed Burnley to Goodison Park on April 6th, they remained in severe danger of seeing a chastening campaign end in relegation.
However, a run of four wins in five games – the most memorable being Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Merseyside rivals Liverpool – has dragged the Toffees clear and ensured there will be no repeat of last year, when they remained at the highest level by the skin of the teeth on a nervy final day.
Having earned their first win of the campaign against Brentford back in September, Everton have also done the double over the Bees for just the second time, previously beating them home and away in the second tier back in 1952-53.
Toney struggles continue
While Brentford had enjoyed a resurgence of their own prior to Saturday's game, beating Sheffield United 2-0 and Luton 5-1 in their last two matches, both of those victories came without injured striker Toney.
He returned to the Bees' lineup here but was uncharacteristically quiet, failing to beat Pickford when presented with the visitors' best chance shortly after half-time.
Toney has now failed to score in his last eight Premier League matches, his longest ever run without a goal in the competition. With Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke in fine form as Gareth Southgate prepares to name his England squad for Euro 2024, his barren spell has come at a poor time.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
