Celtic

Derek Clark is on the detailed player ratings as Rangers are destroyed 4-0 by Celtic at Parkhead.

Should’ve done better with a ball into the box but got in a mix-up with Wright. Ryan Kent: Should’ve done better for Celtic’s opening goal when he was dispossessed on the right-hand side before the Parkhead side took an early throw-in that caught the Rangers defence by surprise and led to Abada scoring. Great turn on the edge of the area on 19 minutes as he tried to create an angle for a shot on goal but the match passed him by at times. Brushed off the ball too easily as O’Riley looked to advance towards goal in the first half and generally had no answer as Celtic dominated the middle of the park. Colak should’ve done better when he connected to the first cross while there were no takers for the others. Statue defending on 18 minutes in when Giakoumakis stole a march on him but the Greek failed to nod the ball goalwards.

The most galling thing for Rangers is that a five point and 17 goal advantage as held over them by Celtic in the Scottish Premiership does not look at all ...

“There are still a lot of games to be played, plus three games against Celtic,” said the Dutchman. O’Riley played in Jota, who dinked a wonderful finish over the advancing McLaughlin. Not that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s shellshocked team did not play a part in their own downfall. They swaggered to victory without their star striker, Kyogo Furuhashi, after the Japanese suffered a shoulder injury inside five minutes. Celtic’s preparation for a clash with the European champions could hardly have been better. Ange Postecoglou’s team mauled their city rivals in the season’s first

Ange Postecoglou has responded to Barry Ferguson, who believes that Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst had Celtic figured out.

And the Ibrox side will be without two key players from that game, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo. Postecoglou’s Celtic managed to get the better of Van Bronckhorst’s Rangers both home and away last season. On the other hand, the Rangers have managed to qualify for the Champions League group stages by getting past the qualifiers. On the other hand, the Ibrox club have the chance to turn the table around and take a lead themselves. The previous one was decided by four points and this one could prove to be even closer. Yes, we have some principles around our football, but if you look at the areas of the side, they all bring different attributes which can change the nature of the game.”

RANGERS suffered a hugely disappointing defeat in the first Old Firm derby of the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership season at Parkhead.

The nail in the coffin arrived on 78 minutes. His left-foot strike was too powerful for McLaughlin who got a glove to the ball but couldn’t spot it from nestling in the bottom corner of the net. Rangers were now on the ropes and Celtic went 3-0 up five minutes before the break, with Abada bagging his second. This proved to be a pivotal moment as, on 32 minutes, Celtic doubled their advantage, with Jota this time the scorer. He returned to the pitch but quickly went down again holding his shoulder and was replaced by Giorgos Giakoumakis. The goal lifted the home side and they continued to pile on the pressure in the early stages of a match being played at a blistering pace.

The Aussie wants to test his side against the best and will do it his way after dominant derby display.

“But that’s why we did our business in this window, to make sure we had a squad strong enough to cope. “We don’t need to change our approach to measure ourselves against the best. “We have to bring our own identity. “But what we can control is what we bring. What a great opportunity to play our football. We’ll have a look at him and Carl over the next 24 hours.” But if we continue to play like that, absolutely, we’re going to be hard to stop. “Giorgos Giakoumakis was very good, he caused them a lot of problems. He has vowed to play with the same purpose and intent as they did against Rangers. This is who we are now as a team and won’t change. And [Postecoglou](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/all-about/ange-postecoglou) believes if they keep playing with the level of intensity they showed against Gers - it will be tough for any team to stop them in their tracks. We want to be even better.

Ange Postecoglou got the better of Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Celtic stormed five points clear of Rangers. ANGE POSTECOGLOU has vowed that if ...

“But that’s why we did our business in this window, to make sure we had a squad strong enough to cope. “We don’t need motivation to raise our game. We were motivated today and we’ll be motivated on Tuesday night. Now we know that if we have to make a change, we can. We don’t need to change our approach to measure ourselves against the best. “If we continue to play like that, absolutely, we’re going to be hard to stop. “Now we’ll get ready for Tuesday night. They’re in the Champions League and beat good teams to get there. We want to be better. “But what we can control is what we bring. They’re an unbelievable team with outstanding pedigree. “But we were ready for them.

Ange Postecoglou is relishing the prospect of testing his Celtic team against Real Madrid on Tuesday night to kick off the club's 2022/23 European season.

We have to go into these games dreaming and aiming for the win. We’ll go out there and play our football and test ourselves. “We’ll go out there and test ourselves.

Match report and highlights as Celtic beat Rangers 4-0 in the first Old Firm game of the season; Liel Abadas double and Jotas strike had them 3-0 up at the ...

It's a loss for us, we need to take it on the chin and move forward." "It was a repeat of the game we played in February with a quickly-taken throw-in and free-kick. That is not the way we need to concede goals. A moment of brilliance from Jota saw Celtic double their lead just after the half hour. It did not dent their confidence, though, and Abada fired in the opener just three minutes later. I guess some had suggested we'd had an easy run so far, if this was going to be our first test it was about how we handled it.

Derby hero Jota says it's far too early to be crowning Celtic champions after their romp over Rangers. But he couldn't hide the cheesing grin from his face ...

[Celtic](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/all-about/celtic-fc) 's title defence is concerned and he laughed: "Come on. It was his fourth goal of the season as he continues to prove his worth after sealing a £6.5million permanent move from Benfica. This is September isn't it? [Ange Postecoglou](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/all-about/ange-postecoglou). [Jon McLaughlin](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/all-about/jon-mclaughlin) was perhaps the pick of the bunch. [Jota](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/all-about/jota) says it's far too early to be crowning Celtic champions after their romp over Rangers.