THERE’S MOUSSA LOOSE ABOUT THIS HOOSE
Griff’s stand-in runs riot in derby
He said he wanted to be acclaimed the world over when he signed.
But last night Moussa Dembele was content with the adulation of Glasgow’s East End. The Celtic striker – drafted in to replace top scorer Leigh Griffiths up front – gained hero status with a perfect hat-trick against 10-man Rangers. As if that wasn’t enough, the French striker also provided a stunning assist for Scott Sinclair as Brendan Rodgers’ side hammered the Ibrox club. The injury which kept Griffiths out of act ion was supposed to be a major blow for Celts. But the man who came in for him was hav-ing none of it as he bagged a dream treble – the first in an Old Firm derby since Ally McCoist’s in 1984.
And sub Stuart Armstrong put the tin lid on it to condemn Gers to a humiliating defeat.
Celtic more than merited their win in what was a fascinating encounter. And, incredibly, Rangers more than played their part in it. For spells, Mark Warburton’s side enjoyed tidy possession.
But they lacked the potent threat of a Dembele or Sinclair in attack and – more importantly – their fragile back four was once again exposed with new boy Philippe Senderos sent off at 3-1 down.
Dembele’s double had Rodgers’ men coasting before Joe Garner’s header just before half-time gave Rangers a chance. But Sinclair’s strike, Dembele’s thi rd and Armstrong’s clincher put the game beyond doubt as the champions put down a marker in the title race.
On this evidence Gers are lagging behind their city rivals by a distance.
Celtic fans’ worst fears about Griffiths were confirmed when his name wasn’t on the teamsheet.
Their talisman had failed to make it so Dembele was given his big chance as a central striker.
Elsewhere, it was as expected with James Forrest, Tom Rogic and Sinclair providing the back-up.
While the major change to the Hoops line-up was forced, Warburton chose to drop his own bombshell. His decision to leave Andy Halliday on the bench in favour of new boys Niko Kranjcar and Josh Windass was a brave one.
Not only was midfielder Halliday outstanding in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Celtic at Hampden, no one in the Ibrox dressing-room knows or understands the fixture better than the Glaswegian.
There was no place for Halliday but Swiss international Senderos was given a baptism of fire in his first competitive game at the heart of the Rangers defence.
The general feeling was that Rodgers’ new-look Celtic would fly out the blocks with all guns blazing.
How Warburton’s men would deal with that might just shape the rest of the game.
For the first half-hour here, the Ibrox gaffer would have been satisfied. Clearly the gameplan was to take the sting out of Celtic’s pace and tempo going forward.
And Gers did it by keeping the ball – even in tight areas.
They didn’t threaten too much on the break early on but they stifled the home side by being composed in possession.
Rogic got a couple of shots away that flew off target and Gers keeper Wes Foderingham was busier with his feet than his hands.
The game wasn’t played like a typical Old Firm fixture. The way both sides were trying to operate, it was more like a European tie.
At times Celtic were trying to slow the game down, which suited their opponents opponents.
Aside from Nir Bitton’s cynical trip on Windass that earned him a yellow card there was barely a tackle of note in the opening period.
Most of Celtic’s good work was through their widemen, Forrest and Sinclair, who hugged the touchline trying to stretch Rangers’ rearguard.
For Warburton’s team, new boy Windass was a revelation in terms of his touch and ability to travel with the ball.
But his two pals in the engine room, Joey Barton and Kranjcar, weren’t as impressive.
The Englishman, with so much hype around him going into the game, lost cheap possession too easily and looked off the pace.
While Kranjcar, although gifted on the ball, was on a booking and just one more lazy challenge away from being sent off.
As the half wore on Celtic stepped up a gear and Sinclair forced a save out of Foderingham from a clever Rogic pass.
From the resultant corner, Dembele opened the scoring with a bul let header that gave the Rangers goalie no chance.
Why Garner had been assigned to mark his fellow striker, only Warburton knows.
That was the cue for Celtic’s tempo to go up a notch with the Parkhead punters now urging them to charge forward in search of more.
And it had the desired effect 10 mi nut e s later, although this time Rangers shot themselves in the foot.
Rob Kiernan’s slack pass allowed Bitton to find Dembele on the run. With the Gers defender out of position, his partner Senderos was skinned by the striker who produced a classy finish.
At that point the roof could have caved in on Warburton and his players. But credit to them, they kept playing and pulled one back before the break.
Windass again was the driving force in midfield as he picked out James Tavernier.
His cross found Kenny Miller unmarked and the veteran’s header looped over Dorus de Vries for Garner to notch on his Old Firm debut at point-blank range.
It was a lifeline for Rangers as it gave them hope rather than fear for the second half.
There was no chance of Kranjcar reappearing after the break, with Halliday replacing the shattered Croatian playmaker.
He helped Rangers move the ball quicker in midfield and Barrie McKay went close to making it 2-2 when he curled a shot just wide.
But Rodger s reacted by introducing Stuart Armstrong for Rogic – and it was a key moment in the game as it allowed Celtic to get more of a grip in the engine room.
And in Dembele they had a player that Rangers’ ropey defence simply couldn’t handle.
When Celtic got their third and decisive goal, the French hitman was at the heart of it again.
He collected the ball 35 yards out, drove at two static centre-backs and conjured up a killer ball for Sinclair who slotted it home.
It was the crucial goal for the champions and a cheap one for Warburton’s team to concede.
But they’ve been doing that since the start of the season.
By now Celtic were rampant and it was damage limitation for Gers. Armstrong tested Foderingham with a rocket then the keeper had to keep out Sinclair’s rebound.
And af ter Gers took Kiernan off to go with three at the back, Senderos saw red when he misjudged the flight of a bounce and handled, leaving ref Willie Collum no option but to flash a second yellow.
Senderos was followed up the tunnel by Rangers assistant boss Davie Weir who had berated fourth official Kevin Clancy.
With Barton now playing as an emergency centre-half a fourth goal was always on the cards.
And when Lustig chipped a ball over him to Dembele, the striker drilled home for his hat-trick.
But Celtic weren’t finished there and Armstrong made it five in injury time when he latched on to a Kieran Tierney cutback and gave Foderingham no chance.