Brendan Rodgers praised his Celtic side for quickly erasing their Champions League pain with a 6-0 thrashing of Aberdeen at Parkhead.
The Hoops were chastened by a 6-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in their Champions League group stage game in Spain on Tuesday night, where they ended up with 10 men following the dismissal of Daizen Maeda and bottom of the table.
However, they blitzed an abject Dons side in their cinch Premiership encounter, with South Korean forward Yang Hyun-jun scoring his first Celtic goal in the ninth minute before Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi added a second seven minutes later in an utterly dominant first half.
Winger Luis Palma scored from the spot in the 76th minute and in 10 added minutes at the end of the game, the home side scored three goals, with substitutes David Turnbull and Oh Hyeon-gyu, twice, on target as Celtic restored their eight-point lead over Rangers at the top of the table.
“I said to the players before the game, throughout your footballing season and life you have painful points, but how you respond is where you are judged,” said Rodgers, who revealed Furuhashi would not be travelling to Japan this week to stay behind for treatment for a head knock which saw him taken off.
“If you look after St Johnstone here (0-0) we go to Rangers and win, after Feyenoord away (0-2) we go to Livingston and win.
“Obviously we had a challenging game in midweek just because of the circumstances.
“It is then how you respond today. I thought the players responded so well. They’ve done great in the game, created numerous opportunities.
“Look at Aberdeen’s record, especially away from home. Look at how tough they are to beat. They go to Frankfurt and do well, they go to Rangers and win.
“So they are a team who are tough to play against. But I thought our players today were absolutely fantastic. They showed some great football, great movement, great connection in the team. I was so pleased for them.”
It was a fifth successive away game for the Dons but after the hard-fought 2-2 draw against PAOK on Thursday night in Greece, Barry Robson was not for making excuses and admitted that he was “massively surprised” by the result.
He said: “You can look for excuses, but I’m not having that. Yes, we all know where we have been, but we still can’t come here and perform like that. So I’m not having that, either.
“It was a result I never saw coming at all. That is the biggest surprise, I never saw that coming.
“I am just angry because it is not us as a team. You have to learn that you can’t leave yourselves open, you have to learn to shut the back door and not lose more goals.
“I just think the first 15 minutes, we were not at it. We didn’t get close to anyone. Never put a tackle in and, as the half went on, got slightly better.
“Half-time, we tweaked a few tactical things and thought we started to look a lot better in the second half and then lost the penalty.
“And then I thought after that Celtic ran away with it and it was not good enough.
“Once you lose that third goal, you have got to get a structure, you’ve got to stay in the fight and we just looked too open. It looked like they could score every time.”
[(Monterrey) Strength]: 1. Monterrey lost to FC Cincinnati in the first round, ranking only 12th in the table. They have to win this game for a qualification spot, indicating full motivation.2. Veteran Sergio Canales scored a goal in the last game, once helping the team tie the game.3. Monterrey won 2 of the last 3 games in AH, revealing recent performances in line with expectations.[(Monterrey) N...
[(Molde FK) Strength]: 1. Molde FK are 13th in the league table, facing a risk of entering the relegation zone. Thus, they aim to take 3 points in this home game.2. Molde FK won 4-1 over Stromsgodset in the last league game at home, ending their 3-game losing streak and boosting their morale.3. In the last 5 encounters between both sides, Molde FK have the upper hand with 4 wins and 1 loss.4. The ...
[(KFUM-Kameratene Oslo) Strength]: 1. KFUM-Kameratene Oslo are 9th in the league table. Facing 5th-placed Rosenborg, they are eager to grab points in this game.2. KFUM-Kameratene Oslo won 3 league games in a row lately, with high morale. They secured a commanding 5-0 away win over Kristiansund BK in the last league game.3. KFUM-Kameratene Oslo were unbeaten with 3 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 hom...
[(Guadalajara Chivas) Strength]: 1. Guadalajara Chivas lost to New York Red Bulls in the first round. They have to go all out to win this game, if they want a qualification spot, indicating full motivation.[(Guadalajara Chivas) Neutral]: 1. Guadalajara Chivas scored 4 goals and conceded 5 in the last 3 games, revealing decent attack but unstable defense.2. Both sides have never met before, and thi...
[(HJK Helsinki) Strength]: 1. HJK Helsinki were unbeaten in the last 5 games, showing outstanding recent form.2. HJK Helsinki scored 13 goals in the last 5 games, averaging nearly 3 goals per game and indicating full offense.3. HJK Helsinki have the upper hand with 37 wins, 24 draws, and 14 losses in 75 encounters between both sides.4. HJK Helsinki won 4 of the last 5 games in AH, performing over ...
[(Santos FC) Strength]: 1. Alvaro Barreal scored 4 goals for Santos FC in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A this season, the top scorer of the team.2. Tiquinho made 3 assists for his side in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A this season, the top assist of the team.3. Santos FC won the last 2 encounters between both sides, giving them a better mentality.[(Santos FC) Weakness]: 1. Santos FC were win...
[(Valerenga) Strength]: 1. Valerenga are 16th in the table, only one point ahead of the relegation zone. They are motivated to take points to move up in this game.2. Mathias Grundetjern scored a goal in the last game, once helping the team tie the game.3. Valerenga were unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw in the last 2 home games, performing well at home lately.4. In the last 10 encounters between both...
[(Stromsgodset) Strength]: 1. Stromsgodset are only 2nd from the bottom of the table. They urgently need to take points to move up, showing full motivation in this game.2. Marko Farji played 16 league games this season, scoring 6 goals and providing 3 assists. He is important in the team's attack.3. Stromsgodset were unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw in the last 3 encounters between both sides, givi...
[(FC Akron Tolyatti) Strength]: 1. FC Akron Tolyatti showed multiple scorers on offense, having 5 players who scored in two league games in the new season.2. FC Akron Tolyatti forward Gilson Tavares scored a brace in the last Russian Cup game. He is expected to perform well in this league game.3. FC Akron Tolyatti won 2-1 over Baltika Kaliningrad in the last Russian Cup game at home. They were unb...
[(Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas) Strength]: 1. As the defending champions, Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas are only 7th with 26 points, far away from the top team. To get back into the title race, the team must go all out to earn points, so their desire to win is beyond doubt.2. Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas forward Arthur Cabral has performed impressively since joining from SL Benfica this summer, ...
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