Aberdeen have earned a lot of deserved plaudits this season but at Hampden yesterday, Celtic taught them a lesson they will not forget in a hurry.
Jimmy Thelin’s side did well to earn a draw at Celtic Park last month as Aberdeen battled back from 2-0 down to snatch a precious point.
And after Aberdeen beat Rangers midweek, there was even more hype surrounding this game as the Pittodrie club continues their impressive start to the season under their new manager.
But after Celtic hammered Aberdeen 6-0 in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden yesterday, the Dons boss now has a lot to think about after Brendan Rodgers’ side showed a ruthlessness to Scottish football’s young pretenders.
Jimmy Thelin praises ‘really strong’ Celtic vs Aberdeen at Hampden
Looking dejected post-match, Thelin was very philosphical and offered no excuses after watching a rampant Celtic take his team apart.
Thelin said, “That’s football sometimes. We feel ready when the game starts but Celtic was really strong today and we have things that we didn’t reach the level today what we want and that’s football sometimes
“You just go away games and when you end 6-0 of course it’s not nice for anyone. The positive thing today was this togetherness with the supporters when the game was over and they put some energy into the team and the hunger for the next game is the most important thing today.
“I think now we have to move on from this game as same and I saw the same thing when we win games. Refocus and put how we can grow and learn from this game.”
Thelin praises ‘quality’ Celtic vs Aberdeen in League Cup
The Aberdeen manager was told that despite conceding six goal, his goalkeeper didn’t have any saves to make in the game against Celtic.
Reflecting on that, Thelin said, “That’s my point. Football games sometimes can be really tough. They had the quality today.
“They were really precise and good at what they’re doing and sometimes games can go like this is and it is hard to explain right now why.
“It’s it’s a lot of small things probably that’s why we have to analyze and then stick to the game plan for the next game but we have to learn from this game because we want to be that team who play three games per week.
“We want to be in Europe, we want to be in the big games at Hampden, we want to be a strong team in the league so we have to learn from this one.”
Unlike other managers, Thelin reaction to such a devastating loss was dealt with humbly as he praised Celtic for their performance despite being clearly gutted at how his Aberdeen side were taken apart
Celtic now have another date at Hampden to look forward to and will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final on the 15th of December.
Neither of those two teams will fancy facing Celtic after their display at Hampden yesterday proved that Brendan Rodgers and his team are determined to be ruthless in search of silverware in Scotland this season.
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