Chris Sutton states why he was ‘surprised’ James Forrest played 78 minutes for Celtic at Aberdeen

Celtic improved to two wins from two as the new Premiership season gets underway.

Only two teams have started without a loss: Scotland’s champions and Hearts, who have increased their expenditure and created a lot of noise under Tony Bloom.

After scoring three points against St Mirren on Flag Day, Celtic defeated Aberdeen on Sunday, with Brendan Rodgers making one change to his starting lineup, with James Forrest replacing Hyunjun Yang.

To be honest, it wasn’t surprising given that Forrest arguably accomplished more in half an hour than Yang did when he began against St Mirren the previous time.

Chris Sutton on James Forrest playing 78 minutes as Celtic beat Aberdeen

Forrest played 78 minutes at Pittodrie, but Chris Sutton expected him to leave the pitch much sooner.

Not because of how the Celtic hero was playing, but because of Rodgers’ lack of choices out wide, and you wouldn’t want to jeopardise a player who has grown even more crucial.

In the end, Arne Engels replaced Forrest with 12 minutes remaining in normal time, and Yang did not even appear on the pitch.

“It’s surprising he (Rodgers) has left James Forrest on for so long,” Sutton joked. “Especially with the lack of wingers Celtic have.”

Brendan Rodgers’ current winger options at Celtic.
It doesn’t help that Nicolas Kuhn leaves for Como and isn’t really replaced, and no one has stepped in to cover for the long-term injured Jota.

There are choices out wide for the Celtic manager, but it’s evident that they’re players who will most likely be gone by the September 1 transfer deadline.

Celtic’s existing and available extensive options:

• James Forrest
• Yang
• Marco Tilio
• Daizen Maeda
• Benjamin Nygren