Brendan Rodgers knows how tough a venue Easter Road can be from previous experience, but from the moment Nicolas Kuhn gave Celtic the lead in the third minute today (Sunday), the Champions were in control of the match. Callum McGregor added a second with a stunning strike from nearly 30 yards out, and although the Hoops created other chances they were unable to add to their tally. However, the 2-0 victory over Hibernian makes it two wins out of two for Celtic, with six goals scored and none conceded. Not surprisingly, the Celtic manager was pleased with the way things panned out for his team in the capital. Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Brendan Rodgers said: “I thought that for long periods in the game we were very good. ‘We started the game how you’d want – you want to start quick. We did that and we had lots of really good moments.’ “I said before the game that when you have that combination of a winning mentality and attitude in the team, along with quality, then it gives you an opportunity to win games. “Easter Road’s one of the toughest places to win in Scottish football, so to come here and for long spells dominate the game – if I’m nit-picking, I would say that we should score more goals. We arrived into some very good areas and weren’t clinical enough when we arrived in. “But the approach play, the build-up play, some of it was very good and we showed the attitude to defend and keep a clean sheet.”Nicolas Kuhn scored for the second game in a row, slotting the ball home from close range after being set up by James Forrest. And that was added to by Callum McGregor’s goal in the 19th minute. On the first goal, the manager said: “We won it back really well and then we go into the depth in behind. “Nicolas plays a great pass, he’s up for the slider, Kyogo takes the shot and then like what the wingers have done really, really well, James follows it in and squares it for Nicolas. “We encourage the wingers a lot to get in the box, get in the second post – don’t be stood outside watching. Get in there because that’s where the goals will be scored, and it was a really good goal and set us on our way.” As for the captain’s effort, which will undoubtedly be a contender for goal of the season come the end of the campaign, Brendan Rodgers was impressed though not surprised by the quality of the strike. “I‘m very lucky to have Callum over both of my spells here and he’s played a lot of games for me as a player,” the Hoops boss said. ‘He’s an absolutely brilliant leader on and off the field.’ “He’s very intense, which I like. He’s very concentrated and focused, and his goal – I’ve seen that so many times and seen him score so many great goals in my time at Celtic. “We worked it well in that area of the pitch. He comes up and supports the move, and it was an absolutely fantastic strike. “He’s an absolutely brilliant player, tactically so good in the game and he really led the team as he always does very well.” Next up for the Hoops is another meeting with Hibernian next Sunday, this time a League Cup tie at Celtic Park. There’s a nice chance now to analyse the game and see the areas we can be better in, and also reinforce a lot of the really good moments we had in the game today,” the manager explained. “The objective is to get into the next round, so in front of our home support, it’s trying to get into the next round. “And it’s another special game for us. That’s our mantra. So we’ll prepare well in the week. We’ll now recover from this game, have a good week’s training and then be set up for next Sunday’s match.”FixturesHibernian Vs. Celtic – Sun, Aug 11th 2024, 12:30
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