Celtic vs Aberdeen. Scottish Premiership.
Celtic ParkAttendance59,090.
Match report as Celtic beat Aberdeen 4-0; Callum McGregor opened the scoring after two minutes; Reo Hatate doubled lead in the 13th minute before scoring again in second half; Liel Abada made it 4-0 late on; Celtic remain nine points clear at the top of Scottish Premiership
Sunday 19 February 2023 21:33, UK
Reo Hatate scored in either half as Celtic eased to a 4-0 win over managerless Aberdeen to remain nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops started with intent as goals from Callum McGregor and Hatate had them 2-0 ahead after just 13 minutes.
Aberdeen failed to register a single goal on target and Hatate and substitute Liel Abada added to the scoreline in the second half as Celtic showed their class.
The defeat, the Dons' second in three games under interim manager Barry Robson, keeps them seventh in the table. They have now lost their last seven away games in the league.
Kyogo Furuhashi was kept on the bench for 71 minutes ahead of next week's League Cup final over Rangers after injuring his shoulder the previous weekend, and the forward showed no ill-effects when he came on.
South Korea striker Hyeon-Gyu Oh made his first start for Celtic and had a quiet introduction although he was involved in the build-up to the second goal.
Aaron Mooy was a surprise absentee for Celtic, who were also without David Turnbull but Matt O'Riley impressed alongside Hatate in the attacking midfield roles.
Celtic were ahead inside two minutes when McGregor pounced on Jonny Hayes' headed clearance and fired a first-time shot from 16 yards which on-loan Ajax goalkeeper Jay Gorter could not keep out.
Jota threatened with a low cross and a drive before Hatate doubled the lead in the 16th minute.
The midfielder received the ball from Greg Taylor just outside the box and moved towards several opponents before dropping his shoulder and curling the ball into the bottom corner.
Celtic looked like they were going to add to their tally in the first half as they continued swarming forward.
Aberdeen survived balls across the face of goal from Daizen Maeda, O'Riley and Taylor and Gorter made two saves from Hatate.
Celtic were awarded a penalty when Maeda got in the way of Hayes' attempted clearance but Jota was called offside by VAR from the preceding incident after having a shot saved by Gorter.
The goalkeeper then produced another great stop from O'Riley before the break.
Aberdeen caretaker manager Barry Robson brought on left-back Hayden Coulson for striker Bojan Miovski and moved Hayes forward for the start of the second half.
Maeda missed a decent chance but Aberdeen were looking far more compact than they had in the first half.
The visitors were also getting forward more often and Leighton Clarkson had a couple of wayward efforts while Joe Hart twice gifted possession to Hayes outside his box.
The former Celtic winger was off target from 45 yards on the first occasion before setting up Ylber Ramadani. The midfielder's long-range effort was blocked by Carl Starfelt with Hart stranded and referee Willie Collum waved away handball claims.
Hatate lifted the home fans in the 76th minute, first bamboozling one Dons player with a drag-back and then nutmegging another with a pass to McGregor. Hatate supported his captain's forward run and fired into the corner of the net from 16 yards after the ball broke to him.
Substitute Sead Haksabanovic came close to a fourth after an excellent move before squaring for Abada to sweep the ball first time high into the net in the 89th minute.
Ange Postecouglou spoke to Sky Sports News:
"First half I thought we were outstanding. The tempo, quality and intensity of our football was outstanding and we scored a couple of good goals and could have had a couple more.
"Fifteen to 20 minutes of the the second half were a grind but again the guys coming on gave us the energy we needed and we finished strong.
"Reo wants to be the best footballer he can be. He wants to improve and he is not going to settle for where he is at.
"Every day he comes in wanting to be a little bit better and he pushes himself to the absolute limits and he consistently asks us to give him the feedback he needs to be the best he can.
"He is reaping those rewards and I have no doubt there is more to come from him because that's his mindset."
Aberdeen interim boss Barry Robson:
"First and foremost we are really frustrated. We know how good a side Celtic are.
"With how fragile we are with previous games, you could see that and the last thing we wanted to do was concede an early goal and that puts your game plan out a wee bit.
"We struggled a wee bit after that in the first half and the second one comes and they start to pull you about a wee bit.
"But when we got them in at half-time and settled them down a bit, I thought we came out a lot better in the second half.
"I am just in, I am trying to help them, and what I saw after that was boys that wanted to fight and show a bit of character, and they were brave."
Celtic's attention turns to the ViaPlay Cup final against Old Firm rivals Rangers on Sunday February 26. Kick-off at Hampden Park is 3pm.
Aberdeen host Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday February 25. Kick-off 3pm.
