Celtic face Rangers later today in the third Glasgow Derby of the season. Ange Postecoglou lost his first, a narrow 1-0 defeat at Ibrox back in August, whilst his second was a memorable 3-0 thrashing back in February. Reo Hatate put on a masterclass in the centre of midfield assisting once and scoring twice as Celtic put on the style.
It was a fast start and the Celtic midfield, led by skipper CalMac, dominated and helped the team get forward. Although, Reo Hatate stood out. His first goal came after a cleared corner fell to his feet at the edge of the area, a drive that was moving away from Allan McGregor evaded bodies in the box before nestling in the corner. His second came from a lovely move down Celtic’s right hand side, neat interplay allowed Liel Abada to play his teammate in at the edge of the area, allowing Hatate to bend the ball around Goldson and into McGregor’s near post.
Hatate assisted thereafter when he found the touchline on the left and delivered a delightful ball into the mix, which Abada ran onto – leaving Barisic on his knees. Celtic did their business early, Giakoumakis was denied on a few occasions by McGregor but the goals allowed Celtic to sit off and soak up the pressure.
Brilliantly, Paradise was plunged into darkness as the anthem was belted out and the players entered the huddle and the Rangers players were forced to watch. The visitors were clearly spooked and that was evident as Celtic blew them away.
Hopefully Celtic can muster a similar performance today and move six points clear at the top of the table.