Luis Palma is a player who seems to have split the opinion of the Celtic fans this season.
Whilst many, like me, really like Luis Palma and think he’s got the potential to be a very good player under Brendan Rodgers, there are others that think he still needs to do more with the game time he has been given.
Signed after Celtic sold Jota for £25m, Palma was brought in as a replacement for the Portuguese favourite so there is also a caveat that, like Greg Taylor has with Kieran Tierney, the Honduran international is being unfairly compared to a player who plays in the same position, but has a completely different style of play.
So far this season, Palma has scored nine goals this season and created ten assists. That’s not a bad return for a player who has flitted in and out of the starting lineup under Rodgers. [Transfermarkt]
And here, Palma identifies the one goal out of the nine that he feels is his most important at Celtic this season.
Palma’s Champions League goal for Celtic vs Atletico Madrid
Palma really shone in the Champions League for Celtic this season. Scoring twice in the competition against Atletico Madrid and Feyenoord put him on the footballing map but it is the goal in the 2-2 draw with the La Liga side that he says is his most important.
Palma said [Daily Record], “I have scored some important goals for Celtic, but the best one was against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“Time has passed very quickly since I first signed for Celtic. I think I have adapted quickly and I have played in so many great competitions here.
“Personally, for me, I see it as a great season.”
That surprises me really because I think there are two goals that rank much higher in terms of being important for Celtic.
The first is the goal that opened his account under Brendan Rodgers. Struggling at Motherwell, Palma whipped in a right-footed curler that unsighted Liam Kelly in The Steelmen’s goal.
Celtic were struggling to break down a stubborn Motherwell side and Palma’s 87th-minute opener set the Hoops on course for a vital 2-1 away win in the Scottish Premiership.
The other goal that is more significant for Celtic is Palma’s goal against Feyenoord in the 2-1 win over the Dutch in the Champions League.
That goal put Celtic on course to end a ten-year wait for a Hoops win in Europe’s elite competition as Rodgers banished a huge Champions League hoodoo.
Hopefully Palma will recapture that form for the remainder of this season as Celtic will need his goals to help retain the title in the coming weeks.