Brendan Rodgers shared his thoughts after Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Hibernian, expressing satisfaction with the win and the attacking display but pointing out clear issues with the defensive performance, saying it wasn’t of the level that he expected from his side.
The win capped off a third game in a week for Celtic, following a hard-fought triumph away at Aberdeen in midweek, which will have taken a lot out of the players.
Coming into this one against Hibs, Rodgers changes up the back four, with Valle and Carter-Vickers dropping out and Taylor and Scales coming in.
Rodgers didn’t mince his words when he touched on Celtic’s defensive display, but praised the attacking element. He said: [Clyde 1 SSB]
“Delighted with the win, it’s the third game this week on the back end of a tough game away from home in midweek so to come here and to get a victory and clean sheet is great. Some of our attacking play was good, we scored some good goals created more chances. Defensively, for our standards, nowhere near it. Not at the level that I expect and want. But sometimes that is part of me making the changes so that’s on me, but that defensive side wasn’t so good in the first half, second half it was better.”
Hibs had several clear-cut chances throughout in the game, with Celtic’s high line leaving them vulnerable. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was called into action multiple times, denying Mykola Kuharevich and Elie Youan to preserve the clean sheet.
It was his busiest SPFL match for the Hoops so far.
The second-half adjustments brought about a more composed performance, and Celtic ultimately shut down Hibs’ attacking threat for the most part, maintaining their dominance and extending their unbeaten run to 30 matches. The improvement after the break was a response Rodgers appreciated, even if the first-half display fell short of expectations.
This latest victory leaves Celtic firmly in control at the top of the Scottish Premiership, now nine points clear of Aberdeen and 14 ahead of Rangers.
