Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic has moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership ladder with a classy 3-0 win over Rangers in the Old Firm derby.
Plenty of standout performers in this game but Reo Hatate and Josip Juranović putting on an absolute show.
The first half was an exceptional display of attacking perfection from Ange Postecoglu.
9 first team players have left this season and 14 have come in, Ange is working with a completely new team and his boys have just torn the reigning champions to shreds.
A masterclass from the manager tonight, the Ange Postecoglu era is only just beginning for this master coach
Game ON
All the goals game in a stunning first half, with Liel Abada and Reo Hatate with a double delivering an emphatic derby win for the Hoops.
Celtic made a blistering start to the game and Hatate marked his first Glasgow derby after just five minutes.
A corner was cleared to the edge of the box where the Japanese midfielder controlled the ball, shifted it on to his left foot and fired an unstoppable shot through a cluster of players and into the net.
Paradise erupted and the Hoops were on their way, with captain Callum McGregor, wearing a protective face mask, anchoring the midfield superbly.
And only Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor stopped Celtic running away with the game in the early stages.
In the 15th minute he produced a superb double save to deny first Jota with a shot and then Giorgos Giakoumakis with a follow-up header.
And the Greek striker was denied again by the keeper just three minutes later after he connected with a Liel Abada cross.
Celtic were dominating the game in terms of possession and attacking intent, and Giakoumakis had another chance on 27 minutes when he got on the end of a cross from the right flank but, again, McGregor was on hand to save.
Ange Postecoglou’s side deserved more from their first-half efforts than just one goal, and those rewards duly arrived in the last few minutes of the half.
And it was Hatate who got on the scoresheet again on 42 minutes, gathering the ball 20 yards from goal and curling an unstoppable shot beyond McGregor and into the net.
The jubilant Celtic supporters were still celebrating that goal when the Hoops made it 3-0. This time it was Hatate who was the provider, curling a ball into the box from the left wing where Abada was quickest to react, steering the ball home from six yards out.
