Paradise was buzzing today for probably the most critical match for the month of December.
It was first place Celtic against second place Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. But, the Bhoys only proved why they are top of the table in this fixture by blanking Aberdeen by a score of 3-0. Goals came from Mikael Lustig, Jonny Hayes and Olivier Ntcham.
The win only separates the Hoops from the rest of the Premiership. Brendan Rodgers‘ side now sit in a dominating position with 8 points clear from the rest of the pack. What’s even more exciting is that Celtic sit 11 points clear of rivals Rangers FC.
Kieran Tierney pushed up into the play a lot in the last match against Partick Thistle, and he was only doing the same in this one. Tierney beat a defender on the far side and sent in a low ball towards Hayes who hit it just wide.
Celtic were really testing the opponent early on as Aberdeen really had no high-danger chances to start off the contest. Brilliance from the Bhoys early on seems to be the norm as of late. Moussa Dembele found himself submerged in tons of amazing interplay between him and Hayes.
Stuart Armstrong‘s strong play on the ball only progressed as he fought off a defender and eventually worked the ball towards Lustig. The 31-year-old center back sent a blistering shot past Joe Lewis for the lead.
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Tierney again worked his way into the middle to start off the second half and accepted a through ball from Scott Sinclair. The 20-year-old’s shot went straight into Lewis’ arms however.
Dembele was putting the moves on Lewis who was away from the goal. Sinclair fed the French native again who had an open net to shoot at, but his chance went way over the bar.
Sinclair proved to be very dangerous down the wing as he sent a ball in that was patted down by Lewis, but it only fell to the feet of Hayes to send home to make it two over Hayes’ former club.
Aberdeen’s Kenny McLean was looking to send the ball back to Lewis towards the end of the contest, but the pass was very weak to say the least. So weak, in fact, that Ntcham was actually the one that took the pass and went around Lewis to send in the dagger goal.
There was nothing really going for Aberdeen to finish off the fixture as Rodgers knew his side secured the three points.
It’s really impressive to see how the Celts have rebounded after the loss against Hearts. Celtic finished with 18 shots and 56 percent possession over Aberdeen, who again looked non-threatening to the Hoops.
Everybody has been doing the part on the squad which is always heartwarming to see. Ntcham continues to develop into a solid forward for the Bhoys, and it was yet another clean sheet for Craig Gordon.
Celtic get Dundee in the next contest before finishing off the year in the derby against Rangers. The Bhoys are taking it one step at a time and are continuing their journey towards another title in Scotland.
Who was your Man of the Match in this one? How many points will Celtic finish with before next year? Let us know in the comments section.