Celtic have been in excellent form across the Scottish Premiership campaign and pundit Frank McAvennie has now singled out one of Brendan Rodgers’ men for special praise due to his impact on proceedings.

Celtic form under Brendan Rodgers

Unsurprisingly, Celtic have been in their usual imperious form in the Scottish Premiership over the first 12 fixtures of the campaign, taking 32 points in total despite a tough run of games. The Hoops have an eight-point advantage over arch-rival Rangers at the summit; however, Phillipe Clement’s side have a game in hand that could narrow the margin to five points.

Nevertheless, a 3-0 triumph away to Ross County on Saturday courtesy of goals from David Turnbull, Luis Palma and James Forrest has placed Celtic in a handy position as they aim to retain their Scottish Premiership title. Speaking in his post-match press conference after the game, Rodgers applauded his side’s patience and ability to open up space against a dogged opponent, as he stated: “It's never easy when a team goes down to 10 men – believe it or not – because the spaces are minimal afterwards.”

He then praised summer signing Palma for his tremendous effort to double the Hoops’ lead, saying: “Celtic are used to quality, and Luis [Palma] has quality. Celtic have always had wingers who can get you off your seat and he certainly does that.”

Earning plaudits from Rodgers, Palma has made a bright start to his career at Parkhead, notching three goals and two assists in his opening seven top-flight fixtures (Palma statistics – WhoScored). The Honduras international also has a strike against Atletico Madrid to his name in the Champions League; however, pundit McAvennie has afforded encouragement to another of Rodgers’ new boys who has recently come into the fold.

Celtic's next five fixtures – all competitions

Competition

Opponent

Venue

Champions League

Atletico Madrid (A)

Wanda Metropolitano

Scottish Premiership

Aberdeen (H)

Celtic Park

Scottish Premiership

Motherwell (H)

Celtic Park

Champions League

Lazio (A)

Stadio Olimpico

Scottish Premiership

St Johnstone (A)

McDiarmid Park

Frank McAvennie praises Paulo Bernardo's impact

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit McAvennie has complemented the impact of loanee Paulo Bernardo since joining Celtic. McAvennie said:

“I’ve got to be honest, Bernardo came in and he was unbelievable considering he’s not played. By all accounts, he’s soaking everything up, taking everything in that he can. He’s taking it on board, and I thought he did very, very well at the weekend [against Hibs].

“We know David Turnbull, we know what he can do. He’s a different type of player. When Aaron Mooy was there too, he was a good player who took over that position. But I think the boy Bernardo.”

Despite making six appearances in all competitions for Celtic, Bernardo has only actually completed 191 minutes of action in total for his new side. However, McAvennie seems to be excited by his potential to step into midfield and be an efficient cog in Rodgers’ engine room (Bernardo statistics – Transfermarkt).

Bernardo’s performance against Ross County made for decent reading, as the Portugal Under-21 international completed 22 passes from 29 attempted and recorded an average match rating of 6.7/10, according to SofaScore. Over the next few weeks, Celtic may well be able to get a more detailed feel of Bernardo’s attributes as they enter a congested period of fixtures, with the likes of Reo Hatate sidelined.