SWEET AND SOUR
Treble still on but Dembele could miss out
CELTIC ....... 2 RANGERS ..... 0
MOUSSA DEMbElE will today undergo a scan to discover if he has any chance of playing in the Scottish Cup final.
Celtic earned a tilt at their first domestic Treble in 16 years as goals from Callum McGregor and Scott Sinclair eased them to a one-sided semi-final victory over Rangers at Hampden.
The only negative for brendan Rodgers was a hamstring pull for star striker Dembele in the first half. Scorer of 32 goals this season, the Frenchman now faces a
race against time to be fit for the final against Aberdeen on May 27. ‘We will get the scan, but it looks like a hamstring,’ said Rodgers, whose team took their unbeaten domestic run to 41 games in what was the club’s first semi-final triumph over Rangers in the tournament since 1925. Asked if Dembele is a cup final doubt, he added: ‘We’ll see. If it’s a full-blown hamstring, then he probably wouldn’t be (available). ‘It is still late April, so that’s not until May time. We’ll see what the scan brings.’ Delighted by a high-tempo performance in stark contrast to last year’s semi-final defeat to Rangers for Ronny Deila’s team, Rodgers insisted his side were ‘brilliant’. ‘We saw everything you would want from the team in terms of composure, temperament and technical quality,’ he said. ‘We started the game very well. We had good positioning. ‘In the League Cup Final here, it was a similar idea — control the game early on and get a rhythm. In the first half, in particular, we were outstanding. ‘We scored a great goal. The only disappointment was we didn’t score more. ‘We restricted Rangers to very few opportunities. In the second half, you expect a little bit more from them. ‘At 2-0, we were comfortable. We were showing a good balance to our game, a real good tactical level. But how we could improve in that moment is that, sometimes at 2-0 you don’t think it’s won, but you’re comfortable in the game. ‘Sometimes you look for the rest. But you’re better to rest with the ball than without the ball.’