Celtic fans have quickly moved on from last week’s Glasgow Derby defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership after last weekend’s sequence of results.
Failing to capitalise on a rare triumph over the Bhoys, Rangers fluffed their lines against Hibernian and reverted back to the inconsistencies that have been so common during Philippe Clement’s tenure with a 3-3 draw.
Supporters enjoyed the comedic value of events at Easter Road. Celtic responded by comfortably defeating St Mirren to move 13 points clear of their rivals at the Scottish Premiership summit.
Scoring twice, Nicolas Kuhn took his tally to 16 goals this season, prolonging a fantastic start to the campaign from a personal standpoint.
Taking a brief look back on Celtic’s Glasgow Derby defeat last week, the German winger addressed a key flash point involving Jefte’s challenge on him during the first-half.
Nicolas Kuhn addresses Jefte challenge during Glasgow Derby
Rangers defender Jefte was involved in a point of contention with Kuhn during the opening 45 minutes at Ibrox last week, where his elbow struck the Celtic man, leading to treatment being needed to stem the blood flow from his nose.
In the end, a yellow card sufficed after VAR reviewed the incident, and the 24-year-old has since offered his take on what he felt happened during proceedings.
He stated: “I’m not the VAR. There was also a kick, but as we said, it was not our best game. The situation (surrounding Jefte’s challenge) I don’t decide, so we have to keep going.”
On whether he was surprised that the referee didn’t take more action: “Actually, I didn’t realise what happened. Afterwards, I didn’t know if it was yellow or anything else. That’s not the most important, the most important (thing) was that we showed a reaction today and now we move on to the next game.”
Later, he finished when asked about his nose: “I don’t know if it’s broken. It is a little bit painful, but it will be fine. The result was more painful.”
Celtic haven’t made a huge fuss over Jefte decision
In a world where some shout from the rooftops about calls that could’ve gone their way, Celtic haven’t made a massive fuss over the decision to award Jefte a yellow and probably acknowledge that they didn’t turn up at Ibrox last week.
Nevertheless, their reaction to put three past St Mirren alongside keeping a clean sheet is the mark of a true champion. Going down with a whimper is one thing, but staying on the floor won’t be tolerated.
Blips can happen during a long season, and Celtic aren’t immune to bad days at the office domestically; their remarkable consistency in the Scottish Premiership means they are held to a higher standard and rightly so.
The Bhoys welcome expectation on their shoulders and stringing together some quickfire victories over Dundee United, Ross County and Dundee on league duty will put any memories of last week’s showing firmly to the side.
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