Celtic fans will be enjoying a relaxed Sunday after seeing their side lift the Scottish Premiership trophy yesterday following a 3-2 win over St Mirren.
Despite the main events centring around Joe Hart’s farewell and Brendan Rodgers’ men finally celebrating with Scottish football’s greatest prize, there was an entertaining 90 minutes in store for the capacity crowd that turned out at Parkhead.
Matt O’Riley and Kyogo Furuhashi ensured Celtic went in at half-time level either side of a Mark O’Hara double, as the manager opted to field a rotated side including the likes of Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki, Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh.
Honduras international Palma was to come up trumps for the Bhoys, scoring four minutes from time to guarantee they finished on 93 points, racing eight ahead of rivals Rangers, who drew away to Heart of Midlothian.
Now up to ten goals and ten assists in 36 appearances during his debut campaign, Rodgers deserves credit for his inclusion in the starting lineup [Transfermarkt].
Luis Palma’s productive afternoon during Celtic vs St Mirren
Palma has had to wait for his opportunity to reappear across the second-half of the season; nevertheless, he certainly gave Rodgers some food for thought ahead of the Scottish Cup final next weekend against Rangers.
Per Fotmob, the 24-year-old was a livewire on the left flank, taking on three shots, creating one opportunity, completing 31 out of his 37 attempted passes and recorded a combined Expected Goals and Expected Assists rate of 1.40.
He also completed 100% of his dribbles across during the 90 minutes, coupled with three accurate crosses. From a defensive standpoint, the La Ceiba-born man chimed in efficiently, making one recovery, two defensive actions and a solitary clearance.
Looking forward, it will be intriguing to see what the next few months have in store for Palma and where Rodgers views him in the Celtic pecking order.
Summer transfer activity is bound to occur in several positions, which could throw up a scenario where the Honduran has to compete for his place with one or two new arrivals next term, though we will need to wait and see what transpires.