On This Day in 2016, Celtic put on a show as they dismantled Rangers 5-1 in the first derby of the 2016/17 season. After replacing Ronny Deila and promising continue the club’s domestic dominance, Rodgers certainly made his mark with an emphatic victory over Mark Warburton’s challengers.
Moussa Dembele, who started ahead of the injured Leigh Griffiths, was phenomenal as the Frenchman scored two first half goals. Joe Garner pulled one back on the brink of half time. Celtic were on top throughout the game but Rangers could have drawn level as Barrie McKay’s shot went wide.
Dembele turned creator this time by sliding a neat reverse pass into the path of Scott Sinclair, who made no mistake. Moussa completed his hat trick after Mikael Lustig’s perfectly weighted pass was cushioned down on his right foot before his left foot slid the ball into the net.
As the clock ran down, Rangers fans began to leave meaning that quite a large number of them missed Celtic’s fifth of the afternoon with Stuart Armstrong popping up to score.
Celtic: De Vries; Lustig, Sviatchenko, Toure, Tierney; Bitton, Brown (McGregor ’74), Rogic (Armstrong ’54); Forrest (Roberts ’64), Dembele, Sinclair.
Unused Subs: Gordon, Izaguirre, Ciftci, Gamboa.
