Scottish Premiership
Sunday March 7 2021
Tannadice Park, Dundee

DUNDEE UNITED…0

CELTIC…0

Celtic had to settle for just a point against Dundee United after being held to a goalless draw Tannadice. The Hoops were unfortunate not to have come away with the win, having dominated possession and created plenty of chances in front of goal throughout the 90 minutes.

Celtic started well and had the home side pinned inside their own half in the opening stages. United defended aggressively and gave Celtic no time on the ball but John Kennedy’s side quickly moved up through the gears and began piercing open the opposition defence.

Jonjoe Kenny and Ryan Christie linked up well on the right to work an opening in the eighth minute. Kenny’s first-time pass released Christie down the right and the two burst forward. Christie cut a pass back for Kenny inside the box but the defender dragged his effort wide of the far post.

Benjamin Siegrist in the United goal was kept busy for a sustained period after that. Diego Laxalt fired off a powerful volley from just outside the box, forcing the Swiss goalkeeper to punch clear the danger. Ryan Edwards came to his side’s rescue in the 13th minute when he slid in to block Odsonne Edouard’s shot from close range. David Turnbull then had a shot with a right-footed effort from the edge of the area but the midfielder couldn’t adjust his body to generate enough power, making it a comfortable save.

Celtic maintained the pressure on their opponents as the half wore on with some neat passing in the final third but United defended in numbers and managed to deny Celtic a window to shoot. Edouard threatened again midway through the half after turning away from two defenders to create enough space for a shot, but his left-footed attempt from the corner of the box was straight at the keeper.

McGregor came close to opening the scoring when he ran on to a great pass from Christie. His shot flew narrowly wide of the post and was nearly tapped in by Edouard.

The home side enjoyed more of the ball around the half-hour mark and managed to get out of their half for a period of time. However, they were unable to really threaten the Celtic goal. One of Celtic’s best chances of the first half fell to Laxalt 10 minutes before the break. Edouard picked out Mohamed Elyounoussi with a clever backheel and the Norwegian quickly rolled the ball into the path of the unmarked Laxalt who could only hit the side-netting with his effort.

Edouard had a golden opportunity to score as half-time neared but the Hoops striker failed to connect with Elyounoussi’s cross into the six-yard box.

Celtic picked up from where they left off after the break and came close to scoring early in the second half with a flurry of chances. Callum McGregor saw his half-volley from the edge of the penalty area deflected off target and Stephen Welsh’s header from a corner was cleared off the line.

Elyounoussi dragged his volley just wide off the mark shortly afterwards and no one was able to stab in McGregor’s inviting ball across the six-yard box a minute later. Elyounoussi had another great chance 20 minutes from the end but his glancing header at the back post was wide of the target. The Norwegian midfielder was inches away from scoring after Tom Rogic fed the ball into the box for Elyounoussi. He turned and fired a low shot just wide of the right-hand post.

Both sides pushed for a winner in the closing stages of the game and Celtic came closest with Leigh Griffiths’ header at the back post saved well by the keeper in added time.

DUNDEE UNITED: Siegrist, Smith, Reynolds, Butcher, Fuchs, Edwards, Robson, Harkes (Chalmers 79), McNulty (Appere 70), Clark (Pawlett 60), Shankland.
Subs: Deniz, Sporle, Connolly, Hoti, Bolton, Neilson.

CELTIC: Bain, Kenny, Ajer, Welsh, Laxalt, Brown (Forrest 80), McGregor, Turnbull (Rogic 61), Christie, Elyounoussi (Griffiths, 84), Edouard.
Subs: Barkas, Duffy, Ajeti, Klimala, Soro, Montgomery.

Celtic held to a goalless draw against Dundee United at Tannadice