Celtic 'dominance' not reflected by scoreline - Rodgers
Celtic’s single-goal win over Rangers in the first Old Firm derby of the season did not “reflect our dominance”, says manager Brendan Rodgers.
Olivier Ntcham’s second-half goal settled a game in which Celtic struck the frame of the goal four times.
Rodgers’ only complaint was that his side “didn’t score one or two more” as he extended his unbeaten record against Rangers to 12 matches.
“We were the dominant team from start to finish,” Rodgers told BBC Scotland.
“We didn’t give too much away, then had the courage and quality to play.
“On the end of a busy week, in what has been a busy pre-season, it was an outstanding performance and there’s a lot more to come from the squad.”
Ntcham goal inflicts Gerrard’s first loss[1]
Reaction to Celtic’s win & relive the match[2]
Player rater – who did you vote man of the match?[3]
Celtic are now second in the Premiership – three points behind Hearts – and four clear of Rangers, who have won just one of their opening four games.
The victory also ended Steven Gerrard’s unbeaten start as Ibrox manager and was a reaction to pre-match suggestions that the gap had narrowed between the sides.
Rodgers, though, insisted he has never “seen these games as threats”.
“You have to respect that Steven [Gerrard] and Gary [McAllister] have done a great job, but I’ve always seen these as opportunities to show our quality,” he said.
“We’ve got top players and they did that today. They demonstrated their qualities, demonstrated the spirit that’s in our squad, and it was a very good victory for us.”
‘Dembele stepped over the line’
Celtic’s preparations were clouded by the messy departure of striker Moussa Dembele to Lyon in a £19.7m deal.
The French striker said the club had “caved in” after several days of talks, cryptic social media posts, and his absence from the Europa League win over Suduva.
Rodgers had said on Friday morning that he expected Dembele to stay, only to release a statement hours later confirming a bid had been accepted “to serve the best interests” of “the culture and environment” at Celtic.
“The whole episode was disappointing,” Rodgers said after the derby win.
“I had a really close relationship with Moussa. He was desperate for the move. There was a line over stepped from a behaviour perspective.
“There was a lot of stuff which was said which was not so nice and ironically not true. Moussa got his move. Deep down I know he’s a good boy, he did a great job for us and I wish him the best.”
^ Ntcham goal inflicts Gerrard’s first loss (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ Reaction to Celtic’s win & relive the match (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ Player rater – who did you vote man of the match? (www.bbc.co.uk)
Celtic 'dominance' not reflected by scoreline – Rodgers was originally published on 365 Football
