Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou had the chance to do what no Bhoys manager has done against Hibernian in the league since 2014.
Mission accomplished.
Postecoglou put out a typically attacking side, and the pressure on Hibs was immediate. By half an hour, the Bhoys were 3-0 up against a team that’s had the better of us at home for most of a decade.
Celtic, simply put, were scintillating for much of the first half. The interplay between Rogic, Turnbull, Johnston, Kyogo and Jota was often breath-taking. Johnston, making his first start this season, gave Paul McGinn a torrid night, while the pace and movement of Kyogo was proving impossible to deal with.
However, Hibs did give us a bit of a scare. A soft goal, put away by (who else?) Martin Boyle, gave the Hibees real impetus.
For the first portion of the second half, you could’ve forgotten about how good we were in the first. Celtic, under pressure from the Leith side, struggled to reassert their dominance.
We saw it out, though. In a second half where Hibs were much improved, Celtic had to do plenty of defending. But instead of ceding an all-important lead, the Bhoys saw out a result to break a horrible streak of results at Easter Road.
So, what did we learn from this significant evening in Leith?
Celtic are taking advantage of set pieces; Hibernian weakness exposed
A lot of last season, it genuinely didn’t look as if Celtic looked for weaknesses in our opposition. It was much of the same, every time, hoping that players’ individual skill would win out.
That’s not the case now. It would’ve been known to the Celtic manager, his coaches and scouts, that Hibernian have been useless defending set pieces over recent weeks.
Good preparation meant that Celtic were able to establish a 2-0 lead early on. David Turnbull set up both Anthony Ralston and Cameron Carter-Vickers from a free kick and corner respectively.
Celtic are finally taking advantage of the opportunities handed to them. It was a clear weakness of Hibs’, exploited to perfection to establish a dominant lead early on.
Cameron Carter-Vickers dominant again for Celtic; star turn against Hibernian
With Carl Starfelt’s resurgence of sorts in recent weeks, Cameron Carter-Vickers has gone somewhat under-appreciated.
Let’s end that, because he had a great game. The American international was on the scoresheet, yes, but his overall contribution really stood out. We’ll get to his numbers, but his innate ability to keep Kevin Nisbet out of the game was hugely important.
Dominant in the air, but comfortable with the ball, Carter-Vickers was a reliable distributor, completing 95% of his passes. Fine, he’s a centre-back, but a lot of his passes were positive, with over 15 in the opposite half [Fotmob].
Defensively, he was colossal. His last-ditch stuff was great when needed, making 9 clearances. But his anticipation, ability to sniff out danger early and challenge in the air was superb.
Ange Postecoglou has improved the Celtic mentality, from counter attacking to keeping things compact
This could really have been two different things, but it’s all under the umbrella of the mentality switch Ange Postecoglou has implemented at Celtic.
Let’s do the pretty stuff first; Celtic are absolutely devastating on the counter, as Hibernian learned. That couldn’t have been better illustrated than when Kyogo finished off an excellent move to make it 3-0.
So many players are willing to find reserves of energy and join in the attack. There’s a real commitment to attacking that’s yielding results, and it’s a joy to watch.
But there’s also the uglier stuff. When Celtic conceded, despite the lead, there would’ve been plenty of anxiety amongst the support. Let alone when Hibernian had the lion’s share of possession in the early stages of the second half.
Yet, when under pressure, Celtic didn’t scramble and panic. Not like they used to. Just as in attack, the numbers coming back across the width of the pitch is impressive.
On the ball, after soaking up pressure, there was a constant desire to get forward. Perhaps just as crucially though, it’s getting the ball back in the first place, without panic or chaos, that’s such a refreshing change.
So much of that is about the confidence Postecoglou has instilled. And tonight, as he made some modern Celtic history at Easter Road, we hope he can take some satisfaction in that.
Read more: Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou explains decision to start Mikey Johnston vs Hibs
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