Celtic 5-1 Rangers – Brilliant Photo Gallery from Moussa Dembele’s Perfect Day

Seven years ago today…Moussa Dembele took away the match ball and to celebrate that brilliant day at Celtic Park when theRangers came calling for the first time, we’ve put together this very special photo gallery of that September afternoon in 2016 for you to enjoy….

And there’s more. Laced through the brilliant photo gallery is an extract from Matt Corr’s best selling book INVINCIBLE which tells the story of Brendan Rodgers’ remarkable first season as Celtic manager. Matt’s commentary of the 5-1 Demolition Derby in 2016 is outstanding and as we turn our attention at Celtic Star Books to Matt’s latest book – Majic, Stan and the King of Japan which tells the story Gordon Strachan’s first season at Celtic.

Last week we started our pre-sale on Majic, Stan and the King of Japan and for everyone ordering their copy today we’ll also send you a FREE signed copy of INVINCIBLE. We’ll also do that for everyone ho has already ordered Majic, Stan and the King of Japan which is out on Friday 20 October. You won’t have to wait for invincible though, as we will post out orders to addresses in Britain and the occupied counties tomorrow.

Seven years ago this very day we welcomed top flight newcomers theRangers to Celtic Park for the first ever Scottish Premiership match between the teams. We of course came out on top with a win, but we didn’t just beat them, we annihilated them.

It was the day Moussa Dembele introduced himself to us and Scottish football scoring a hat trick in a sensational display, the perfect hat trick too. Header, right foot and left foot as he sent the noisy new upstarts homewards to think again.

Although Moussa wasn’t expected to start as Leigh Griffiths was seen as the main striker have scored 40 goals the previous season, but injury curtailed the Scotland striker from playing.  But we needn’t have worried as Moussa made himself an instant legend during an unforgettable afternoon at Celtic Park as we started to think that this was a rather special Celtic team with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

It was also the beginning of the end for loudmouth Joey Barton as it would prove to be his last game in a the Rangers jersey. Not before he was taught a lesson by Broony. One drop ball was all it took for Broony to show Barton up for what he was.

Scotty Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong grabbed the other goals as we sent theRangers supporters away facing the truthful reality which was that their new side didn’t have what it took to challenge for the league title and the phantom ‘55’ that they all craved, they liquidation deniers that they are.

A great and memorable day even for yours truly who had a few quid on 4-1! Although I didn’t mind when Stuart Armstrong added the fifth in injury time, after all what’s money when you get to sample your first ever Celtic win in the Scottish Premiership over the newcomers who were founded in 2012 and had made their way through the leagues from Brechin to Paradise only to get skelped.

And if they thought losing 5-1 to Celtic that day was a one-off then they were sadly mistaken. Celtic would repeat the same result later in the same season at Ibrox and that was the day when they really couldn’t take it any longer and the grumblings about reducing the size of the Celtic support at their ground began. Lest we forget.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

Don’t miss The Celtic Star’s photo-gallery from this match below and laced throughout the pages you can enjoy Matt Corr’s “Men versus Boys” as Broony’s Celtic do their talking on the field, taken from Invincible…

The only downside of a 4-1 thrashing of Aberdeen at Celtic Park had been a hamstring injury picked up by Leigh Griffiths, which saw his removal during the second half, and which would prevent him playing during the international break and the first domestic fixture beyond that, a home game with newly-promoted Rangers.

Three days later, Rodgers had made his final signing of the summer transfer window, Costa Rican international right-back Cristian Gamboa joining for the proverbial “undisclosed fee” from Premier League outfit West Bromwich Albion. The 26-year-old had struggled for game-time under Tony Pulis and had jumped at the opportunity to join the Rodgers Revolution in Glasgow.

“When my agent called me to tell me about Celtic, I said to him, “Do everything because I really want to go. It doesn’t matter if they play Champions League or not – it’s still a big club.” So, for me the fact they have qualified [for the group stage]is like a double bonus – I get to play for this club and to play in the Champions League.”

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Gamboa had featured in all five matches in Brazil, as Costa Rica reached the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup, the full-back playing every minute as the rank outsiders topped their group with victories over Uruguay and Italy, followed by a draw with England. In the Round of 16, he played for 77 minutes in the draw with Greece, the opposition featuring recently-released Celtic striker Georgios Samaras.

The Costa Ricans progressed 5-3 on penalties at the expense of the Greeks but he would be reacquainted with Big Sammy soon enough, the pair joining West Brom within a few weeks of each other in August 2014, Gamboa leaving Norwegian champions Rosenborg. The Celtic theme would continue at the Hawthorns, with future Hoops star Youssef Moulumbu already plying his trade there. It could actually have been even more interesting from that perspective, as both Scott Sinclair and Scott Allan had only left the Midlands club in the close-season to head for Manchester City and Hibernian respectively. A small and interconnected world is football.

Whilst Gamboa had continued to be a first pick for his international team, the likeable full-back had made fewer than twenty appearances in his two years at the Hawthorns. Would this be a problem?

“I always try to keep myself in shape by doing extra work. I wasn’t playing at West Brom but I was playing in all the national team games, so right now I am missing some match fitness but I will come here and do my best, and if you give me the chance I’ll be ready.”

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He was deemed ready enough for a place on the bench as Mark Warburton brought his Rangers team across Glasgow for the first meeting of the sides since the ill-fated shoot-out at Hampden, five months earlier. Brendan Rodgers had made just the one, enforced change for the derby, Moussa Dembele replacing the injured Leigh Griffiths. It would prove to be a very significant hand dealt by fate indeed. Some things are just meant to be, I guess.

The teams appeared in the tunnel to a deafening roar from 58,348 fans on Saturday, September 2016, Celts emerging to face a human tricolour in the north-east corner where the Ultras assemble, one of the most visually-effective displays I have ever seen in all my years of supporting the famous Hoops.

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Once again, Celtic started in dominant mood, forcing the play, however, we had passed the half-hour mark before the first goal arrived, Scott Sinclair’s curling corner met by a majestic header from Moussa Dembele, which bulleted past Wes Foderingham in the Rangers goal. As the noise levels increased yet further, Dembele made it a derby double, running onto Nir Bitton’s through ball to check back inside

Philippe Senderos, the former Arsenal defender left unceremoniously grounded as the Frenchman struck an exquisite right-footed finish around Foderingham and into the far corner for 2-0. Seconds before half-time, the visitors pulled a goal back, literally out of the blue, Kenny Miller’s header across the six-yard box bundled in by Joe Garner, to slightly dampen the party atmosphere over the interval.

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The Hoops fans needn’t have worried. On 60 minutes, Mikael Lustig prompted Dembele into life with a pass delivered in from the right flank. This time Moussa deceived the back-peddling Rangers defence by threading a delightful pass through to Sinclair, his clinical one-touch finish clipping the post on its way to making it 3-1, Scott’s fourth successive League goal. The unfortunate Senderos’ afternoon then went from bad to worse, the big Swiss defender stretching up to stop another attack with his hands, with 15 minutes remaining, leaving referee Collum no option but to show him a second yellow card.

There would be more pain to endure for Warburton’s promoted side. As the clock ticked on to 83 minutes, Lustig sent over a perfect cross, which took stand-in central defender Joey Barton out of the game completely. Dembele’s finish was sublime, one touch to control before firmly placing the ball into the far corner with his left-foot for the perfect hat-trick, his first-ever treble in senior football.

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The icing on the Celtic cake was provided right at the death, this time Kieran Tierney the provider, his cross from the left picking out Stuart Armstrong. The blond midfielder – a replacement for Rogic early in the second half – momentarily appeared to have missed his opportunity, drifting past defenders only to strike it back across the keeper and in for 5-1. It was party central in the east end of Glasgow.

This would be the first significant checkpoint in the 2016/17 title race. Celtic, having won at Tynecastle and Perth and then scored nine goals at home to the two anticipated “main challengers”, Aberdeen and Rangers, had a 100% record, already four points clear of the Ibrox side with that Partick Thistle game still in hand. It had been a perfect start to the domestic season, with recent signings Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair contributing more than their fair share of goals, whilst Leigh Griffiths had continued where he had left off in May. And all achieved against a background of Champions League qualification and injuries to key players.

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Please note that the match-day photos are mixed up a little so enjoy each one as it comes on its own merits….

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It was, therefore, a happy Brendan Rodgers who spoke to the assembled media after the game, asked firstly, of course, about the performance of his exciting young French striker.

“He was outstanding. He was up against Philippe Senderos, who’s an experienced player – but you see his physicality in the game, his heading ability, his running ability and a wonderful touch and finish.”

And his views on the game and the experience overall?

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“I was disappointed that we conceded a goal before half-time. You expect them to come out and try to force the game in the first ten minutes of the second half and there was too much area opening up, especially in the central areas – so we made the change. Tom’s had a lot of travel in the international break. We said to Stu that this was a game he could come into and look to press and work and he’s done that very well and got his goal. He contributed to a great team performance.”

“It was important to win today and keep the momentum going. We have got to be relentless in our quest to win the title again and that was a good marker for us. The atmosphere today was truly special. When the noise is like that, it really is a team that has a 12th man. They had a real disappointment at Hampden only a few months back, so hopefully they have shown the improvements they have made. It is great for the supporters. It is always about bragging rights for the supporters and I think they will be proud of their team today.”

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Surprisingly, his opposite number Mark Warburton felt there was no significant gap between the sides.

“It’s game five of a long season. We don’t see a major gulf. We just got beat 5-1. They have bragging rights and deserved to win.”

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Man-of-the-moment Dembele could scarcely contain his delight, admitting that it was an experience he would remember “for my whole life.”

“It feels great. To score a hat-trick, my first in professional football, is something unbelievable. Everyone has welcomed me since I came to the club and the fans were unbelievable today. The atmosphere is something I have never seen. I don’t think I will see something like this in my career.”

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Final word for now goes to the Celtic captain, Scott Brown. He had remained silent whilst Joey Barton, brought in from English Championship side Burnley, on a reputedly large salary, had bad-mouthed him in the press, claiming that Brown was “nowhere near the level of player I am.” The controversial midfielder’s words had come back to haunt him, the veteran Celt dominating proceedings from the outset, leaving the field to a standing ovation on 74 minutes, the game and Joey already in the bag.

Pressed by the headline-seeking media afterwards about the anticipated “battle with Barton,” Brown dismissed it out of hand.

“It was easy.

 There was no battling whatsoever.

 It was pretty much Men versus Boys at the end of the day.”

That was an extract from INVINCIBLE, the debut Celtic book from Matt Corr. Matt’s latest book is titled Majic, Stan and the King of Japan and is out on Celtic Star Books on Friday 20 October. When you pre-order a copy today, you’ll receive a FREE signed copy of INVINCIBLE which we’ll post out tomorrow to address in Britain and the occupied six counties.

Follow Matt on Twitter @ Boola_vogue