Celtic sold Kristoffer Ajer to Brentford in the summer while Jonjoe Kenny returned to Everton after completing his loan spell in Scotland. They were then left with Anthony Ralston in the right-back position. The Celts signed Josip Juranovic to fill in the spot, but an injury to Greg Taylor meant that he was shifted to the left-back position. Anthony Ralston been one of the most impressive performers in the Scottish Premiership.
Ralston has made 11 appearances for Celtic and has missed only two games in the league. The defender has scored three goals and provided four assists.
When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar, the better the performance – you can see the league average in the middle and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. The above chart is in comparison to the other defenders in the Premiership.
Anthony Ralston is one of the highest goal contributing defenders in the Scottish Premiership. The player has attempted 14 shots towards the opposition’s goal and has five shots on target. His expected goal rate for the season is 1.06 and has scored three goals. Ralston has a high percentile rank in the goals per 90 and shots per 90. He has taken 39 touches in the opposition’s penalty box and has the highest touches amongst the other defenders in the league. The player attempted 4.44 dribbles per 90 and has attempted 52 dribbles so far. Overall, he has been a very attacking defender in the Premiership.
The passing and progression chart is also in comparison to the other defenders in the Premiership. Ralston has provided four assists and has an expected assist rate of 2.07. He averages 67.82 passes per 90 and has an 81.38% pass accuracy rate. The player is also ranked high for attempting smart passes and through passes. He has attempted nine smart passes and 13 through passes. He is ranked above most of the other defenders in passing and progression stats in the Premiership.
Ralston’s pass map shows that he has attempted a lot of sideways passes, and the most number of passes have been towards right-sided forward player Liel Abada. Ralston has attempted 119 passes towards Abada, and his passes have created an expected threat rate of 1.803. The passes by Ralston into the 6-yard box have created the highest expected threat rate, where he averages 22.86 forward passes per 90 and has delivered a lot of passes into the opposition’s penalty box.
The right-back is one of the highest crossers of the ball in the Scottish Premiership. Ralston has attempted 76 crosses and averages seven crosses per match. He leads the Celtic’s chart for most crosses attempted and is just behind James Tavernier in the overall chart.
Anthony Ralston has been one of the most goal contributing full-backs this season. The stats show that he has topped the chart in most of the departments in the pitch. His performances have been impressive, and he has recently signed a contract till 2025 with the club.
