Celtic 3-1 Kilmarnock was the score as Neil Lennon’s side stormed to a 12-point advantage at the top of the Premiership.
Rangers’ 2-2 draw at St Johnstone earlier this afternoon gave the Hoops the platform to extend their lead at the top by two more points. Goals from Kristoffer Ajer, Odsonne Edouard, and Leigh Griffiths were enough to overcome Killie, who led early on through Eamonn Brophy’s first-half penalty.
And on yet another big day in the title race, we take a look at three things we learned from this afternoon’s victory:
1. Greg Taylor and Leigh Griffiths fit for Copenhagen
The extension of our points gap at the top of the Premiership was the main plus-point of the day. Secondary to that though was the returns to action for both Leigh Griffiths and Greg Taylor respectively.
Taylor had to come off against Aberdeen last Sunday in the first-half, whilst Griffiths was left at home when Celtic went to Copenhagen on Thursday night.
Both men started the contest this afternoon, and both continued to look sharp. Taylor was up and down the left flank and always offering himself as an option, whilst Griffiths showed some sharp touches and combined well with Edouard at times. He then rounded off his display with some clever movement and a goal to seal the points.
It allows Neil Lennon to safely consider the 3-5-2 system for Thursday night after it was once again deployed against Killie. The return of both men is a huge bonus ahead of the return leg against Copenhagen this week.
2. Jozo is still a roller-coaster of a player
Simunovic also made his return to the starting line-up this afternoon after a six-minute cameo in Copenhagen, and it’s clear that clumsy errors are still a part of his game.
Early on, he bundled Brophy over far too easily inside the box to give away a penalty. With Rangers having just dropped points, it put us up against it early. However, he then showed a different side to his game.
Simunovic went on several blistering runs forward to make amends for his error. He came close with a deflected effort that almost found the top corner, and played a key role in ensuring that Brophy didn’t get another sniff.
It’s great to see Jozo get more game-time. However, with a crucial second-leg against Copenhagen coming up on Thursday night, he needs to be more reliable at times when it comes to the basics. He’ll take a lot from his display with the exception of the Brophy opener.
3. Celtic handle pressure better than anyone
If today proved one thing in particular, it’s that nobody handles domestic pressure like Celtic.
In recent weeks, Celtic have piled the pressure on Rangers with a power of wins and forced them to match us. Instead, they’ve dropped 10 points against Hearts, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, and St Johnstone respectively. Two of those matches came either during Celtic matches or when the Hoops have played first.
Today it was flipped, Rangers slipped to a 2-2 draw whilst Celtic went 1-0 down against Kilmarnock. A colossal test of character was thrown down, and Lennon’s men came out of it with flying colours. They dismantled Killie after hearing of Rangers’ slip-up, and it could easily have been four or five come full-time.
It was yet another sign that, even though we have the ability to set the pace and throw down the gauntlet to Rangers; we can also play afterward and still power to victory as if it’s nothing.
What did you learn from today’s game that we haven’t spoken about? Should we have won by more? Has anyone earned their spot for Copenhagen with today’s win? Let us know in our discussion forum below.
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