Brendan Rodgers has picked his best match as manager of Celtic, and it wasn’t one of his derby wins.
The Hoops boss earned ten wins against Rangers in his first spell in the Celtic hotseat. He’s already added another this season thanks to a terrific Kyogo Furuhashi strike at Ibrox.
We’ve beaten our rivals 5-0, 4-0, 5-1 and 5-1 again during that period in what are some of the most magical memories Celtic fans are likely to have. Yet, it’s another domestic clash that ranks highest for Rodgers, as he explained in a Q&A video posted on the Celtic YouTube channel.
“I’ve had many memorable games,” he said in response to a question asking for the best game he’s taken charge of in either spell at Celtic.
“Some of the Rangers games have been fantastic. But I can’t ever really go past the cup final for the first treble in that first season.
“Just the occasion, being unbeaten throughout the whole season. And then it being the first treble for a number of years, and how we won it was special.
“We had many great games. The Man City games in the Champions League and other games. But that there I’d say is the stand-out from the first spell.”
From a humble supporter’s point-of-view, Rodgers is bang on to bring up the Aberdeen ‘Invincible’ final. A nice smile came across my face as he mentioned it.
Some of the victories we’ve had over our rivals under his stewardship have been fabulous. The Moussa Dembele-inspired 5-1 is probably my favourite, although repeating that result at Ibrox later in the season, and clinching the league with a 5-0 success the following year wasn’t bad either.
Yet, there’s something about May 27, 2017 and that Aberdeen game. The excitement and anxiety going into the match. The feeling of what was at stake. The rain. Tierney’s jaw. Going behind. Equalising instantly. Rogic. It was all just magical.
Looking back, it would probably be alongside two other matches as my absolute favourites over the past 15 years. The only ones that could possibly rival it: beating Barcelona in 2012 and the 3-0 triumph over Rangers in 2022.
It’s funny that those truly iconic matches are all five years apart. I guess we can look forward to something big happening in 2027.
Rodgers may have clocked up a few more trophies by then.
In other news, the blockbuster week of fixtures that Celtic will be returning to
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