HIGH FIVES
Griffiths claims rampant Celtic could have hit eight in record rout of Rangers
LEIGH GRIFFITHS helped fire Celtic to a record rout at Ibrox, then rubbed salt in Rangers’ wounds by claiming the margin of victory could have been significantly greater.
Celtic had never before scored five goals in an Old Firm game at the home of their greatest rivals but, afterwards, Griffiths claimed Brendan Rodgers’ men could have found the net eight times yesterday.
The Scotland striker grabbed his team’s second goal with an arrowed shot into the top corner and was joined on the scoresheet by Scott Sinclair, Callum McGregor, Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig as the title winners extended the gap over their Glasgow rivals to 36 points.
‘I think it’s a real statement, coming here and playing the way we did,’ said Griffiths.
‘For the last ten minutes, we took our foot off the gas a little bit. It was five going on seven or eight, the amount of chances we created.
‘We gave Rangers limited space and played to our maximum today.’
Aside from scoring his first league goal of 2017, Griffiths also hit the crossbar for Celtic in a thoroughly one-sided derby match.
With Moussa Dembele out injured, the 26-year-old is relishing the prospect of leading the line for the rest of the season.
‘A couple of inches lower and it’s in the back of the net,’ he remarked of his first-half near miss. ‘I have had my injury problems but I am fully fit now. This is my chance to step up and score goals between now and the end of the season.
‘But it’s not just about my performance or my goal, it’s about the whole team’s performance.
‘To be involved in a win like this is massive. We know in our dressing room that if we play to our maximum, then no one can live with us.’