Dominant Celtic smash Rangers to go top of SPFL

Celtic went straight to the summit of the Scottish Premiership standings after a resounding 3-0 victory over rivals Rangers on Wednesday night.

Celtic’s summer signing Reo Hatate produced an outstanding man-of-the-match performance as he got a brace with an assist for Lіеl Abada to cap off a wonderful evening for the home side.

The Old Firm derby kicked off as Park Head was full to the brim with echoes of the Celtic faithfuls heard from every nook and cranny of the pitch.

It was a one-sided first half as Celtic ran riots dominating every aspect of the game as Postecoglou’s men took the game by the neck with a dangerous high tempo which the visitors couldn’t cope with as the likes of Liel Abada and Jota took over the flanks and becoming a constant menace with the brilliant Hatate combing every grass on the pitch.

Celtic opened the scoring within five minutes of play through Reo Hatate after he collected a loose ball from a resulting corner kick which he calmly controlled and firmly struck into the far corner of the net.

The Hoops didn’t take a foot off the pedal as they continued to turn on the heat on Rangers as efforts from Josip Juranovic and Giakoumakis were saved by Rangers goalkeeper McGregor.

Celtic finally added a second and a brace from Hatate in the 42nd minute after the January signing curled in a lovely shot past the helpless McGregor.

Two minutes later, Parkhead was in a jubilant mood again as the dangerous Abada scored in the 44th minute to wrap up a breathtaking first half for the host.

The second half resumed and undеrѕtаndаblу, the pace reduced іn the ѕесоnd-hаlf as Angе Postecoglou introduced a series оf ѕubѕtіtutеѕ, but his men held on to the win to cement a place at the top, оnе роіnt аhеаd wіth 14 gаmеѕ to be played.

Now, Celtic must continue to build on this win and take every game as it comes to avoid any slip-up.

Up next for Celtic is a home game against Motherwell on Sunday as they continue their title charge under Postecoglou.

Written by: Akinnifesi Olumide