Make mine a triple
It was a Christmas festival of football served up at Celtic Park today for the fans today!
Hibs contributed to an extremely entertaining game with both teams having 12 shots on goal each.
Hibs goalkeeper Smith played well, but Kasper was absolutely exceptional - Hibs were clean through on goal twice in the first half, & Schmeicel pulled off great saves to thwart them on both occasions!
Inspired by Schmeichel, Celtic took the lead when Arne Engels' surging run into the box from deep saw him smartly finish Alistair Johnston's arrowed slide-rule ball across.
It was 2 nil in the second half when Adam Idah bulleted header across the box, and this led to a Hibs defender scrambling to clear & putting the ball into his own net.
The scoring was finished off when James Forrest's exquisite through ball was controlled in style by Kyogo, & Kyogo then deftly chipped the goalkeeper with a gem of a finish!
Great game of football with a 3:0 scoreline harsh on Hibs, but Celtic showed superior quality at the business end of the pitch.
It is onto Dynamo Zagreb away on Tuesday night at 17:45 kick off - Zagreb have struggled in the league this season but then been in inspired form in Europe, and they also played their domestic league match on the Friday night to gain a slight recovery advantage (though Celtic did rotate well today meaning that is hopefully evened up somewhat), so it is going to be an epic European Cup Champions League battle against the Croatian champions.
Player ratings
Kasper Schmeichel, 9 (Man of the match) – 9 shots on target by Hibs & 9 saves - phenomenal!
Greg Taylor, 7.5 – The dynamo engine was in full flow, & linkup play in the middle of the pitch was excellent.
Alisdair Johnston, 7.5 – Business as usual for the AJ Express & a superb assist for the crucial opening goal.
Auston Trusty, 7 – Solid defensive display.
Liam Scales, 7 Job well done - businesslike.
Callum McGregor, 7.5 – Poetry in motion.
Luke McCowan, 7 – Sharp movement & crisp passing all afternoon long..
Arne Engels, 8 - Terrfic opening goal (always the hardest to get) - superb number 8 midfield play - perfectly timed run from midfield followed by a slotted finish into the top corner.
Daizen Maeda, 7 – Classic Rolls-Royce display.
Nicolas Kuhn, 7 – Great secondary assist to slot in Alistair Johnston for the crucial first goal.
Adam Idah, 7.5 – Missed 2 great chances, though was instrumental in assisting the killer second goal, linked the play well, and was a constant threat.
Hyun-jun Yang, 7 – Sharp & direct play yet again - just needs a bit of a luck for the goals & assists to start flowing.
Kyogo Furuhashi, 8.5 – Sublime third goal from the Knight of Parkhead sent all the fans home with a spring in their step!
Reo Hatate, 7 – Midfield maestro - boss when he came on.
Paulo Bernardo, 7 – Industrious, efficient, and helped see the game out.
Brendan Rodgers, 8.5 – Used the full squad excellently yet again.