Brendan Rodgers delighted with aspect of Celtic’s game that is ‘overlooked a lot’ after Dundee Utd win

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Celtic moved 16 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership last night with a 2-0 victory over Dundee United at Parkhead.

Following a strange few days where most of the talk among supporters centred around Rodgers’ comments on Greg Taylor and Kieran Tierney post-St Mirren, there was no let-up from the reigning champions in their quest for the title.

Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate got on the scoresheet for Celtic in a match where they also recorded their 20th clean sheet across all competitions this season.

Drawing conclusions, Celtic were comfortably against the Tangerines, who offered very little in the grand scheme of things as the hosts patiently waited before picking the lock on an evening where supporters braved the sub-zero temperatures to back them to yet another Scottish Premiership victory.

Admittedly, there have been more entertaining matches on display this term, but Rodgers had every right to be delighted with his side as they extended their lead to 16 points.

Brendan Rodgers on the ‘overlooked’ aspect of Celtic’s game

Speaking after the match, Rodgers paid tribute to the ‘overlooked’ defensive side of Celtic’s game as they gave themselves a platform to build on with yet another clean sheet.

He stated: “Yes, I think that’s been a big part of our game. It probably gets overlooked a lot, is that defensive mentality, because the game always has to be in balance.

“It’s no good being able to attack and do everything and then it turns into a basketball game and you’re up and down the pitch.

“The defensive mentality of the team, which is still an attacking mindset, because you’re trying to press the game and you’ve got to press the game to sustain the attacks. The players were doing that ever so well, very consistently.

“Like I say, when they do that and they put that effort in and you see that, then it leads to so many clean sheets.”

Celtic’s remarkable consistency on show after another victory

Celtic fans have seen more entertaining matches than last night’s affair, which would probably fall under the category of a professional victory against a side who rarely broke from their shape due to fear of being punished.

Fitting the remit at Parkhead, the Bhoys have found ways to come out victorious in all different types of matches this season. They were never in any major danger last night, but had to make time their friend to turn the screw on Dundee United.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	21	18	2	1	57	7	50	56
2	RangersRangers	20	12	4	4	37	16	21	40
3	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	22	9	7	6	30	24	6	34
4	AberdeenAberdeen	21	10	4	7	32	30	2	34

Now, the main priority will be to rest up ahead of a quickfire return to action in Dingwall on Saturday away to Ross County.

Don Cowie’s Staggies are looking to force their way up the table into top-six contention, setting the scene for an exciting encounter in the Highlands.