Scottish PremiershipSunday, September 1, 2024Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC 3(Maeda 17, Kyogo 40, McGregor 75) RANGERS 0 The Scottish champions showed once again why they are the finest team in Scotland after cruising to a convincing 3-0 win over Rangers at Celtic Park today (Sunday).The Celts thought that they had taken the lead after 11 minutes when Kyogo slammed the ball in to the net after a nice cut-back from Nicolas Kuhn, but a VAR review ruled that Kuhn was offside and the goal was disallowed. However, it didn’t take long before the Hoops did score. After some lovely play on the right wing between Alistair Johnston, Nicolas Kuhn and Paulo Bernardo, Johnston fired the ball across the box where Daizen Maeda was waiting to pounce. And the Japanese forward made no mistake as he tucked the ball home with his right foot. The next big chance of the match fell the way of the champions as Bernardo found Reo Hatate in space in the box, but the midfielder fired his shot high and wide of the target.The Celtic players matched the energy coming from the stands in the first half, with every player working hard for the jersey and the cause. Paulo Bernardo followed his captain’s example by hunting every loose ball and remaining composed with the ball at his feet.Few things in life are certain, but something that is highly probable is a Kyogo goal in the Glasgow derby and, with 40 minutes played, the Celtic striker unleashed a low, hard shot down to Butland’s left after a great set-up from Greg Taylor. The opposition keeper could do nothing to prevent the inevitable and it was 2-0 to Brendan Rodgers’ men and eight Glasgow derby goals so far for Kyogo.Early in the second half, the visitors attempted to turn up the pressure and claw their way back in to the game, but the Celtic defence and Kasper Schmeichel were solid and dealt with any danger. With 72 minutes played, Nicolas Kuhn made way for James Forrest as the one-club-man reached an extraordinary 500 appearances for the Hoops. There were also debuts for new Bhoys Arne Engels and Luke McCowan, who both came off the bench in the second half. The capacity crowd inside Paradise brought the noise all afternoon and with around 15 minutes left to play, it was apparent that a third Celtic goal would secure all three points. That third goal came from Callum McGregor in the 75th minute as the Celtic skipper let rip with a thunderous strike from outside the area which curled in to the net and sent Celtic Park wild. The champions saw the game out at 3-0 with no real stress, though Kasper Schmeichel did produce a brilliant save near the end as the visitors attempted to grab a consolation goal. When the full-time whistle went, the roar around Celtic Park was deafening as Brendan Rodgers’ side now head off in to the international break after a flawless start to season 2024/25.
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