Parkhead flop who played 0 minutes vs Livi must not start again for Celtic

What a week of stoppage-time heroics at Celtic to keep this season alive – the Martin O’Neill magic continues.

The question remains as to where this team would be if that disastrous Wilfried Nancy tenure had been avoided, with O’Neill having won 14 of his 17 matches in charge either side of that, losing just a solitary game in the Europa League.

The gap to Hearts at the Premiership summit remains at six points, although with a game in hand, the champions are still firmly in the mix, waiting for their chance to pounce if Hearts do slip up over the coming weeks.

Celtic, it must be said, are far from at their best right now, but slowly but surely, things are starting to come together, with the boost of the club’s January business having provided a different complexion to this squad after such an errant summer of spending.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was undoubtedly the marquee capture of the window, and the Englishman’s start to life at Parkhead couldn’t have gone any better, ensuring he might well have forced his way into O’Neill’s best XI moving forward.

Celtic’s best starting XI after the January window

There is a newfound depth in Glasgow, even while missing key figures like Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston, with the Northern Irishman blessed with two, if not three, options in every position.

Celtic ins and outs winter 2026 (timeless deadline day)

Starting from the back, the experienced Kasper Schmeichel remains O’Neill’s man, even after notable error-strewn displays like in the derby, while ahead of him, it’s hard to look past the centre-back pairing of Auston Trusty and Liam Scales.

At full-back, Kieran Tierney has the jersey on the left, even with Marcelo Saracchi running him close after his Livingston display, while on the right, January loan signing Julian Araujo has firmly surpassed Anthony Ralston as the main man in Johnston’s absence.

At the top end of the pitch, meanwhile, it appears a straight fight between Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu for the number nine berth, with the latter man already off the mark following his debut backheel against Dundee at the weekend.

Whichever of those two strikers does get the nod, they are likely to be flanked by Daizen Maeda and Sebastian Tounekti for the foreseeable, with the Tunisian winger registering three goals and assists across his last outings.

Predicting Celtic’s best XI after January
Position	Player
GK	Schmeichel
RB	Araujo
CB	Trusty
CB	Scales
LB	Tierney
CM	Oxlade-Chamberlain
CM	McGregor
RM	Maeda
AM	Nygren
LM	Tounekti
ST	Adamu

Celtic’s top scorer, Benjamin Nygren, meanwhile, is set to continue pulling the strings in a number ten berth, while the typically ever-present Callum McGregor is a certainty to start as the deep-lying midfield orchestrator.

Perhaps the biggest battle rests in who should be McGregor’s partner moving forward in the centre of the park, with so much competition likely to prove particularly detrimental for the future of one peripheral Parkhead star.

Forgotten Celtic man shouldn’t start again after Livingston absence

Arne Engels’ early withdrawal through injury afforded the chance for Reo Hatate to impress in his place against Livi, with the hope of regaining his regular role in that midfield trio.

As bad as Hatate: O’Neill must drop Celtic star who made 6 passes vs Livi

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the hero for Celtic on Wednesday night, with Reo Hatate having almost been the villain.

Frustratingly, the 28-year-old was again off the ball in his 60-minute outing, hauling down Robbie Muirhead inside the area amid what was another lifeless performance from the Japanese international.

With Oxlade-Chamberlain subsequently making his mark as a late substitute, after his delightful curled finish in stoppage time, the midfield pecking order might have a different feel to it, with the experienced Englishman in line to be the final piece of the puzzle, fitness permitting.

One man who isn’t even in the conversation then is Paulo Bernardo, with the Portuguese’s omission from the matchday squad providing further indication of his diminishing status under the O’Neill regime.

The 24-year-old had been given the chance to impress in Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash with Dundee, although he simply didn’t take it, with Celtic’s early struggles seeing the playmaker withdrawn at half-time, alongside new signing Joel Mvuka.

There has been for so long a desire to see Bernardo given a chance, but that 45-minute performance provided an insight as to why he has been on the periphery to date, after previously failing to flourish under Brendan Rodgers.

Indeed, of his 82 appearances under Rodgers, only 36 of those came from the start, having since only started four games during both Nancy and O’Neill’s time at the helm.

Like in the case of Balikwisha, who’s been largely overlooked by all three of Celtic’s managers this season, it does beg the question as to why every coach has come to the same conclusion over Bernardo, favouring a string of other options ahead of him.

With Oxlade-Chamberlain now in the door and already thriving, the depth in that midfield department should ensure that Bernardo’s days are now numbered at Celtic Park, having made only seven Premiership appearances all season.

Following the weekend disasterclass against Dundee, it would be a real surprise to see the ex-Benfica man given the nod again from the start for the remainder of the campaign, even with the Hoops competing across three fronts, with a return of no goals and assists in 17 games in all competitions in 2025/26 saying it all.

Now in his third season in Scottish football, Bernardo is sadly in the camp of players who have simply had their chance and failed to take it.