Celtic’s Victory Extends Lead in Scottish Premiership

Celtic extended their lead in the Scottish Premiership with a 3-0 win over Dundee on Tuesday.

Paulo Bernardo scored his first goal for the Scottish champions to break the deadlock early in the second half. Substitute Michael Johnston then scored a late double at Dens Park to secure the victory for Celtic.

While Celtic now lead by five points, second-placed Rangers have two games in hand over their arch-Glasgow rivals. They will play one of those matches before the upcoming Old Firm derby at Parkhead on Saturday.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised his team’s performance, saying, “I thought we played very well. It was an outstanding team performance. The ambition of the players was great. We controlled the game, controlled the rhythm.”

He added, “Anything we had to do defensively – -long throws, long balls — we dominated that moment and kept the clean sheet, which is also important.”

Despite the loss, Dundee manager Tony Docherty emphasized the importance of bouncing back, stating, “That (loss) won’t define our season, our reaction to it will define our season.”

Recent victories have been crucial for Celtic, who had suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time in a decade before their win against Livingston.

The match saw Celtic in control from the start, with several players coming close to scoring for the Hoops.

The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute when Bernardo scored with a deft touch after being sent clear by Palma’s through ball.

Johnston later added two more goals to secure Celtic’s victory, with the winger coming close to completing a hat-trick in stoppage time.

AFP