Scottish PremiershipSaturday, May 10, 2025Celtic Park, GlasgowCELTIC…3(Kühn 41, Idah 45, Hatate 58) HIBERNIAN…1(Boyle 25)The Champions returned to Paradise for the first time since clinching a fourth consecutive title a fortnight ago and were in excellent form as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over Hibernian thanks to goals from Nicolas Kühn, Adam Idah and Reo Hatate. It was an unusual start to the match in that Celtic shot towards the Jock Stein Stand in the first 45 minutes, but there was nothing unusual about the way Brendan Rodgers’ side started the game. The Hoops dominated the opening 20 minutes, and Adam Idah found himself with a massive chance in the 10th minute, but his effort from inside the box was saved by Jordan Smith. Five minutes later, Daizen Maeda broke free down the left wing and sent a ball across the face of goal towards Idah, and it looked like any touch on the ball would have taken it in to the back of the net, but it evaded the Irish forward. In the 18th minute Hibs had their first opportunity of the match when Martin Boyle spun in the box and had a shot at goal from close-range which looked destined for the back of the net, but Kasper Schmeichel, making his first appearance since picking up an injury on international duty, produced an incredible save to deny the Hibs forward. However, with 25 minutes on the clock, Boyle found himself with another opportunity and on this occasion, he managed to get his shot from inside the box beyond Schmeichel to give the Edinburgh side the lead. It was a lead which Hibs were fortunate to have, given that Celtic had dominated the majority of the game up until that point, and Brendan Rodgers’ side continued to control the play as they hunted for an equaliser, which arrived in the 41st minute thanks to Nicolas Kühn. Anthony Ralston sent a good ball through the inside-right which ended up at the feet of Kühn, who was calm and composed as he darted beyond the keeper with the ball and slotted it home from a tight angle. And less than five minutes later, the Hoops took the lead. This time, Kühn turned provider, picking out Adam Idah with an excellent lofted pass over the Hibs defence. The Irish forward finished his effort emphatically, smashing it in to the bottom corner from inside the six-yard box to give the Champions a 2-1 lead going in to half-time.The visitors started the second half well and Celtic were forced to defend a few corners early in the second period, but the Hoops defended resolutely and dealt with the danger. And similar to the first-half, the Champions continued to dominate the match throughout the second 45 minutes, and with just under an hour on the clock, Reo Hatate scored the goal of the day to put the match beyond Hibs. After some excellent passing in the build-up, Daizen Maeda whipped a cross in to the box which was fumbled by Hibs’ keeper. The ball landed at the feet of Callum McGregor who picked out Arne Engels, with Engels having the awareness and vision to knock it on again to Reo Hatate. The Japanese midfielder curled a wonderful first-time shot away from the keeper and into the bottom corner to seal the three points. Kasper Schmeichel was called in to action a couple of times just before the 70-minute mark, with the Danish internationalist producing good stops to deny Jordan Obita and Junior Hoilett. James Forrest was brought on with just under 20 minutes left to play, and it would have capped off an excellent day if the winger had been able to find the back of the net and extend his run of scoring every season to 16 consecutive campaigns. He found himself with one opportunity with five minutes left to play, and it was clear that everyone of a Celtic persuasion inside Paradise was willing it in to the net, but the keeper produced a good save to deny the Celtic winger. There was also a debut for 17-year old Sean McArdle, whose good performances for the Celtic B Team have earned him a call-up to the first-team squad. After today’s comfortable 3-1 victory, the Champions will now prepare for a trip to Pittodrie on Wednesday night to face Aberdeen in the penultimate league match of the season.FixturesCeltic Vs. Hibernian – Sat, May 10th 2025, 15:00
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