Champions turn on the style to see off Hibs – but skipper Broony limps off
CELTIC 4 HIBS 2
Two men dominated the fallout from a six-goal thriller that took Celtic to second in the Premiership.
The champions have a fresh injury worry surrounding skipper Scott Brown and he looks likely to miss their Europa League clash with RB Leipzig on Thursday night.
Brendan Rodgers had to play without their inspirational leader for 70 minutes against Hibs.
Easter Road boss Neil Lennon, however, felt he was facing 12 men for the entire match.
He hit out at referee Don Robertson, branding the official’s performance as “abysmal”.
Brown was returning after a lay-off from a hamstring injury but looked from uncomfortable early on.
“He looked like was struggling and, you know what he’s like, he wants to play on,” said Rodgers.
“He wasn’t going to do himself or the team any favours, he was struggling to get about the pitch.
“He thought it was maybe his calf and he then maybe his knee. We’ll just have to wait and see.
“I’d think he’s a doubt for Thursday but he’s a warrior and will do everything he can to be there.”
While Rodgers was concerned about Brown, he was delighted by his side’s performance.
It was a showing that thrilled the majority of the near 60,000 crowd.
Rodgers went on: “What was really good was that we won the game but we entertained the people. There hasn’t been enough times this season when we’ve done that.
“In the first couple of years we were winning well, with real style, and we did that here.
“It’s great for the supporters who pay to watch and it’s synonymous with Celtic.”
Two early goals were all about Celtic doing what they do best.
Quick, crisp passing in tight areas has broken down the most dogged defences over the last couple of seasons.
This term the supporters have seen too many square balls and aimless punts for their liking.
Top players show their quality when they operate at pace and there were signs of Celtic doing that more often when they thrashed St Johnstone 6-0 before the international break. CELTIC:
(4-2-3-1) Gordon 7; Lustig 6, Boyata 6, Benkovic 7, Tierney 7; Brown 6 (Sinclair 21, 6) Ntcham 6; Forrest 8 (Christie 83, 5), Rogic 8 (Kouassi 72, 6) Mcgregor 7; Edouard 7.Unused subs - Bain (Gk), Simunovic, Gamboa, Morgan.
HIBS:
(3-5-2) Bogdan 7; Ambrose 6, Mcgregor 6, Stevenson 6; Horgan 6, Milligan 6 (Whittaker 72, 5), Hyndman 6 (Maclaren 87, 5), Mallan 7, Slivka 6; Boyle 7, Kamberi 6. Unused subs - Marciano (Gk), Bartley, Nelom, Shaw, Porteous.
Hibs were going to be a tougher nut to crack – Neil Lennon’s men came to Glasgow hoping they might just end the day as league leaders.
It didn’t happen because they couldn’t cope with the quick thinking of players like Tom Rogic.
The Aussie opened the scoring by curling a beauty of a shot inside the post after playing a one-two with Forrest.
Rogic was then involved again when he slid the ball through to Ntcham and the Frenchman made no mistake from inside the penalty area.
At that point it looked like Celtic might give their Edinburgh visitors a real thumping.
But Hibs showed they still a danger in front of goal when Gordon was forced to make a brilliant diving save from Boyle’s header on the stroke of half-time.
Kamberi brought the visitors back into it with a fine finish after Mcgregor was robbed of possession by Boyle.
That goal didn’t stop Celtic pushing forward and Edouard hit the post before slamming home to finish a fabulous run from Forrest.
The two-goal lead didn’t last long because Boyle, recently called-up by Australia, pierced the home defence and expertly clipped the ball past Gordon.
With just two minutes remaining,
Edouard made sure of the victory for Celtic when he showed good composure in the penalty area to net from close range for his second.
The Celtic players and fans were united in acclaiming a side back in the groove.
Neil Lennon was not so happy. He took the blame for his team’s first-half struggles but also pointed the finger at the referee.
He said: “I gambled with the formation because there’s no point in coming here with one striker and letting Celtic play all day and win 1-0.
“We lacked a belief in the first half which annoyed me. I’ll take responsibility for that, though, I set the team out to play that way
“I’m really pleased what I saw second half, but over a 38-game season it’s very difficult to maintain that consistency.
“And we knew we were playing against 12 men, that makes it very difficult.
“I thought the referee was abysmal.
“How Benkovic doesn’t get a yellow card and Mcgregor does is beyond me. He’s taken Hyndman completely out of the game and we get a free-kick on the edge of the box and no yellow card.
“I’m not here to get players sent off, I’m just looking for the referee to do his job properly.”
MATCH STATS
REF WATCH:
STAR MAN
is a player right on top of his game at the moment and he hardly put a foot wrong. His ability to see a pass while twisting and turning at top speed was quite outstanding.
JAMES FORREST
@kevin_gallacher