Celtic made it two wins from two Glasgow derbies this season with a deserved 2-1 victory over Rangers at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon. Goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi helped seal the win.
Post-match, manager Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for his side but he also claimed that the champions will be stronger after the winter break: “We will be (stronger)”, he said (Clyde 1 Superscoreboard). “(Reo) Hatate is back involved today, in a different stage of the game we could have given him some game time. (Liel) Abada coming back makes a difference for us, he is a goalscorer. Other players will come back, Cameron Carter-Vickers will be ready after the break. And hopefully we can add to the squad. I would expect us to be better.”
Undoubtedly, Celtic had somewhat of a depleted team leading into today’s derby. They managed to put that aside, though, and come away deserved victors.
The players who weren’t fully fit to start the match will feature a lot more often post-winter break, which will be a notable boost for Rodgers and Co. As well as this, new faces look like they will come through the door in the upcoming transfer window.
Every season, the Celts seem to kick on in the New Year. It seems as though the same could ring true this time around although before there is a break in the action, a trip to Paisley lies in wait.
Today’s win over Rangers counts for nothing if the champions don’t win against St. Mirren on Tuesday evening at 5 pm.
