The Treble is still on for Celtic after progression into the next round of the Scottish Cup.
It was a difficult test for the Scottish Cup holders because they had to face fellow Premiership side, Kilmarnock and they were made to work for it.
Callum McGregor opened the scoring for Celtic with a brilliant driving finish from the edge of the box, but just before the break, the away team equalised.
Brendan Rodgers would have been frustrated, not just at the manner in which Killie scored, but also because Celtic weren’t out of sight by half-time.
Days before Celtic’s Champions League clash against Young Boys, they weren’t preparing themselves in the best way possible.
But then Daizen Maeda, like he has been doing for over a year now, netted the winner 20 minutes from time.
And McGregor was full of mixed emotions post-match.
Callum McGregor reacts to Celtic’s ‘unbelievable’ football v Kilmarnock in Scottish Cup
On the one hand, Celtic’s 2-1 win over Kilmarnock saw them play some outstanding football, with McGregor labelling it ‘unbelievable’, as he told Premier Sports.
But even the skipper admitted that he ‘couldn’t believe’ that it was only 2-1 and, let’s be honest, that’s down to the poor finishing.
Either way, with the Bhoys pushing for the Treble, as McGregor put it, the most important thing is that ‘the name is in the hat’ for the next round.
“The job is to be in the next round and we have done that,” said McGregor. “Some unbelievable football, at times. 2-1. I can’t believe it’s only 2-1.
“We created so many chances and, on any other day, it could have been so comfortable for us. A wee bit of luck with the finishing, but the guys have been superb all season. The main thing is that the name is in the hat for the next round.”
Celtic’s stats against Kilmarnock
Last season, Derek McInnes’ side proved to be a problem for Celtic, as their high press and aggressive style was a reason behind that.
Killie continued that at Parkhead and it resulted in Celtic missing a number of clear-cut chances.
In total, the home side had seven shots on target during the game, in comparison to the opposition’s two, as posted by BBC Sport.
| Celtic | Kilmarnock |
| 18 Shots | 5 Shots |
| 7 Shots on target | 2 Shots on target |
| 9 Shots off target | 2 Shots off target |
| 2 Blocked shots | 1 Blocked shots |
| 1 Hit Woodwork | 1 Hit Woodwork |
| 1 Goalkeeper saves | 5 Goalkeeper saves |
| 0 Diving saves | 1 Diving saves |
| 1 Shot saves from inside the box | 1 Shots saves from inside the box |
| 0 Shots saves from outside of the box | 4 Shots saves from outside of the box |
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