| Match Pictures | Matches: 2018 – 2019 | 2018-19 Pictures |
Trivia
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Celtic win the league!
- 50th time of winning the league
- Celtic still on course for the treble-treble, Celtic are in the Scottish Cup final to come at end of season.
- Lustig scores opener but later pulls a hamstring, expected out for rest of the season, possibly end of Celtic career, as not expected at present to be kept on.
- Celtic amaze everyone by scoring from a corner!
- Stevie Chalmers: Lisbon Lion & scorer of the winning goal in the European Cup final for Celtic in 1967, has passed away, just one week after fellow Lisbon Lion Billy McNeill. RIP
- Plaudits from all over the Scottish footballing world for this great servant to the club.
- Funeral for Billy McNeill held on 3 May, RiP. One of Celtic's greatest sons laid to rest, we wish him and his family peace.
- Celtic U20s won the Glasgow Cup last night wth the Under 20s scoring a dramatic 95th minute winner against the Rangers in the Final at Celtic Park
- New Celtic top revealed, and there were a lot of complaints about the again broken hoops at the top. Traditional style is always preferred.
- James Forrest wins PFA player of the year.
- Snooker: John Higgins makes the final of the world title, but has a bad weekend in the final sadly.
- Sinclair: contract extended for 1 year, option taken by Celtic.
- Rumours: Jose Mourinho approached for Celtic manager's job! Celtic refute this.Former Bayern Munich boss Willy Sagnol will apply for the Celtic manager’s job this summer, according to his agent.
Review
This performance seemed to match much of what has concerned fans of late, with Aberdeen very close to taking the lead on a couple of occasions, but the scoreline says it all as once Celtic got in front, it was plain sailing from there on in.
Lustig was man of the match, but worries as he was taken off with a hamstring injury.
Season's not over, but onwards & upwards to the final challenges, most importantly to seal the important treble-treble v Hearts in the Scottish Cup final.
Teams
Aberdeen
· 1Lewis
· 2LoganBooked at 43mins Substituted forHalfordat 72'minutes Substituted forRossat 83'minutes
· 18Devlin
· 5McKenna
· 29Lowe
· 21BallBooked at 12mins
· 19Ferguson
· 9Wilson
· 17May
· 7Stewart
· 16CosgroveBooked at 68mins Substituted forCampbellat 73'minutes
Substitutes
· 14Halford
· 20Cerny
· 24Campbell
· 31Dangana
· 33Ross
· 34Virtanen
· 37MacKenzie
Celtic
· 29Bain
· 23Lustig Substituted forSinclairat 90+2'minutes
· 5Simunovic
· 35AjerBooked at 23mins
· 63Tierney Substituted forHayesat 56'minutes
· 8BrownBooked at 90mins
· 42McGregor
· 49Forrest
· 18Rogic
· 30WeahBooked at 21mins Substituted forBurkeat 73'minutes
· 22Edouard
Substitutes
· 2Toljan
· 11Sinclair
· 15Hayes
· 21Ntcham
· 24de Vries
· 25Burke
· 32Benkovic
Goals
- Lustig (40' minutes),
- Simunovic (53' minutes),
- Edouard (88' minutes)
Referee:
John Beaton
Attendance:
15,189
Articles
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Stats
Celtic
Possession
Home43%
Away57%
Shots
Home12
Away12
Shots on Target
Home3
Away7
Corners
Home3
Away10
Fouls
Home11
Away7
Articles
Aberdeen 0 – 3 Celtic: Hoops clinch eighth title in a row with Pittodrie win
Celtic's Jozo Simunovic celebrates his goal with team mates. Pic: SNS/Paul Devlin
Celtic's Jozo Simunovic celebrates his goal with team mates. Pic: SNS/Paul Devlin
Moira Gordon
Published: 14:20 Saturday 04 May 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/aberdeen-0-3-celtic-hoops-clinch-eighth-title-in-a-row-with-pittodrie-win-1-4920840
It was a day when the past and the loss of legends Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers weighed as heavily on the mind as the future, in which Celtic must now decide which direction to take as they seek a manager who can pack a punch in Europe while also forging forward with the dream of ten titles in a row.
But it was the present that offered the players, staff and fans a day worth celebrating. With eight consecutive titles now safely bagged, there are players in this current crop who are edging closer to legendary status of their own.
As they celebrated the club’s 50th top-flight triumph which was sealed with a 3-0 win over Aberdeen, interm manager Neil Lennon was loudly hailed by the support and will now hope that he is given the chance to complete the decade of dominance he started during his previous spell at the helm.
Arriving in February following Brendan Rodgers’ departure to Leicester City, Lennon ensured that the sudden exit was not allowed to de-stabilise the club. He has overseen 11 games undefeated in the final surge towards the title and the Scottish Cup final and remains a realistic contender to land the job on a longer-term basis.
He saw them over the line at Pittodrie yesterday thanks to headed goals from Mikael Lustig and Jozo Simunovic, and a late strike from Odsonne Edouard but Aberdeen squandered the opportunity to make things more difficult for the champions elect.
The home side needed a win to prevent a title party on their patch and, with an ongoing battle for third place to think about, three points would have been a welcome way of staving off Kilmarnock.
But, despite manager Derek McInnes being forced to watch from the stand after receiving a touchline ban for gesticulating at Celtic fans during the Scottish Cup semi-final, and being up against a team with two Players’ Player of the Year candidates, Aberdeen showed intent. They just couldn’t find the composure they required in front of goal. James Wilson and Sam Cosgrove will be beating themselves up after they passed up the best of the chances while the score was goalless.
In the 35th minute Scott McKenna picked up the ball on the edge of his own area and galloped forward, eating up metres before swinging a beautifully weighted angled pass in behind the Celtic defence, picking out Cosgrove, who saw his shot blocked by Scott Bain. The rebound landed at Wilson’s feet and he looked like grabbing a certain goal but his effort hit the outside of the post.
The game was open at that stage and raged from one end to the other, with Greg Stewart in menacing mood for the home side and James Forrest and Edouard both dangerous in attack for the guests.
Forrest, who along with team-mate Callum McGregor is one of four shortlisted for the Players’ Player of the Year award, hit a shot just wide as the action swung back up the other end of the pitch. But then Wilson served up another glorious opening, this time for Cosgrove, in the 39th minute. Threading a lovely ball across the box to the back post the latter was just too flat-footed to react effectively.
Celtic made Aberdeen pay for their profligacy minutes before the break, McGregor delivered a cross into the danger area and Lustig, having gamboled up the park and gambled on the pass, was in the right place to dive and head past Joe Lewis.
Just seven minutes into the second half another header, this time from a McGregor corner, saw Simunovic head home the second goal. At that stage, the tension ebbed away and the fans made sure that everyone knew that they were having a party.
The icing on the cake was the third goal, from the boot of Edouard, in the dying minutes.
Celtic’s mean defence held the key to title glory
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-s-mean-defence-held-the-key-to-title-glory-1-4921303
Stephen Halliday
Published: 22:30 Sunday 05 May 2019
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Throughout the history of the now 50 league titles Celtic have won, the club and their supporters have nurtured and cherished a reputation for attacking and adventurous football.
But while, as their song says, playing the “Glasgow Celtic way” is regarded as an important facet of their identity, there are times when pragmatism has to take precedence over idealism.
So it is perhaps only appropriate that while Celtic mourn the passing of their greatest ever centre-half in Billy McNeill, their latest title triumph has been secured on the back of one of their most impressive defensive campaigns.
In crossing the finishing line at Pittodrie on Saturday to extend their current reign as Scottish champions to eight-in-a-row, Celtic racked up their 24th clean sheet in the Premiership this season.
With just two games remaining, they have conceded only 17 goals in the league and are on course to improve upon the 22 and 25 goals they let in during the previous two dominant Premiership campaigns under Brendan Rodgers.
It has been widely observed that Celtic have not been as free-flowing or attractive as their fans would have liked in recent months but that is of secondary importance to getting the job done and ensuring another tilt at Champions League football next season.
That was Neil Lennon’s primary task when he replaced Rodgers in February and the interim manager ultimately saw it through with something to spare. He remains unbeaten in his 11 games in charge so far, most tellingly overseeing nine clean sheets in that run.
Scott Bain, who hasn’t looked back since replacing Craig Gordon as first-choice goalkeeper in January, has played a pivotal role in seeing Celtic safely through the disruption and uncertainty caused by Rodgers’ sharp exit to Leicester City.
In the 16 Premiership games since the winter break, Bain has recorded 13 shut-outs to top up his already impressive clean-sheet record at the club. The 27-year-old former Alloa and Dundee man has adapted brilliantly to the very different demands of playing for a team who usually dominate possession and whose keeper can go for lengthy spells without any involvement.
Bain, pictured inset, has shown himself capable of making big saves at often crucial moments when he is called upon. There was another case in point on Saturday when, with the match still goalless and Celtic looking tense, he made a fine stop to keep out a Sam Cosgrove shot before James Wilson cracked his follow-up effort off a post.
A few minutes later, Mikael Lustig headed Celtic into the lead and any doubts about them taking at least the point they needed to wrap up the title effectively evaporated.
“It is just a case of concentration for me,” said Bain. “The team limits the number of chances other sides get. I feel like when they have them, I have to be up and ready for that. It is great to make big saves for a big club and feel appreciated.
“But I have played a minimal role compared to the other boys. They need to get more credit than they have been getting. Across Europe, you don’t play for a team with more pressure on them than Celtic. Time and time again, this team just comes up trumps and shows how strong mentally they are. They are miles ahead of everyone in terms of their mental strength. When the going gets tough and everything is getting thrown at them, they always come through. They come through the adversity every time.
Neil Lennon celebrates steering his side to the title with his players and backroom staff. Picture: SNS.
‘I just want to live in the moment’ says Celtic boss Neil Lennon
“So far, the number of clean sheets is a great stat to have. We have still got another couple of games to go in the league and it would be nice to get another couple of clean sheets. But the whole team needs credit for those kind of stats. We defend from the front and we do that very well. The back four stop teams getting chances and they deserve a lot of credit. If I am called upon to help, I am glad to do so.”
Celtic were not only grateful to Bain’s alertness in avoiding falling behind during a scrappy first half at Pittodrie. On-loan Manchester United striker Wilson’s profligacy had earlier seen him clip the top of the crossbar when he should have burst the net from around 12 yards.
They were the kind of chances Aberdeen simply couldn’t afford to miss on a day which saw them slip behind Kilmarnock in the race for third spot in the Premiership and a guaranteed place in the Europa League qualifiers next season. Celtic took firm control eight minutes into the second half when, for the second successive week, Jozo Simunovic rose in McNeill-esque style to plant a superb header from Callum McGregor’s corner beyond the left hand of Joe Lewis.
The title party celebrations could now begin in earnest for the travelling Celtic support, although depressingly a section found it necessary to intersperse them with chants of “sad Orange bastard” at Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes. The incident will be reported to the SPFL but McInnes won’t be holding his breath waiting for action to be taken.
It was a sour note on another sweet afternoon for this dominant Celtic side who completed the job with a touch of genuine style two minutes from time as the elegant Tom Rogic set up Odsonne Edouard to grab his 21st goal of the season with a sublime left-foot finish.
By Tom English
BBC Scotland at Pittodrie
- From the section Scottish Premiership
Highlights: Aberdeen 0-3 Celtic
Celtic secured an eighth consecutive title in style with a convincing win away to wasteful Aberdeen.
Neil Lennon's side are now two-thirds of the way towards a third consecutive clean sweep of domestic trophies after already lifting the League Cup.
The Dons' James Wilson fired wastefully against a post before Mikael Lustig's diving header opened the scoring.
Jozo Simunovic rose to meet a Callum McGregor corner after half-time before Odsonne Edouard fired the third.
For Celtic not to have finished the weekend as champions for a 50th time, Aberdeen would have had to have ended the visitors' 11-game unbeaten run, combined with a win for second-placed Rangers at home to Hibernian on Sunday.
But the Glasgow side's sixth consecutive win at Pittodrie means they have now won eight domestic trophies in a row before their Scottish Cup final against Heart of Midlothian on 25 May.
Celtic will now eye matching the nine titles in a row they last achieved in 1974 and which was matched by city rivals Rangers in 1997.
Aberdeen remain in a battle for fourth with Kilmarnock, the Ayrshire side later going above the Dons on goal difference with victory at Tynecastle.
- Relive the drama as Celtic clinch title
- Who did you vote man of the match?
- Games, goals & eight in a row – How does Celtic's latest title stack up?
Watch: Celtic players and staff celebrate eighth successive title with supporters
Celtic make Dons pay for wastefulness
As a club, Celtic have experienced great sadness in recent weeks with the loss of two of their precious Lisbon Lions. The tributes have flooded in from all corners for Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers. The lives of two great footballers who helped lift the European Cup have been celebrated in word and song and that carried on at Pittodrie.
Another minute's applause but most importantly, given what these men represented, another victory and another league title secured. Eight in a row was never in doubt, but it was banked here.
Celtic survived a few scares but cantered away to win handily. Indeed, that could be the story of their season. Some wobbles but easy enough in the end, a league won largely in third gear.
The Dons could have delayed the inevitability of the title party, but teams don't tend to beat Celtic in domestic competition while spurning big moments. How the Dons will rue the early chances they had. How Derek McInnes, sitting in the purgatory of the stand while serving his touchline ban, will have suffered angst at what might have been.
These weren't half chances or 50-50 affairs. These were borderline sitters, both of them falling to James Wilson, a striker who finished like strikers tend to do when they're not used to scoring goals. Wilson, big on reputation but low on end product, can only boast 13 goals in a career that spans almost 90 games.
Five games that helped Celtic win eight in a row
Celtic had the lion's share of possession, but it was the Dons who carved out the most interesting opportunities before Lustig got the Celtic party started. The first of them came when Scott Brown was hustled and harried and gave the ball away in the process.
Aberdeen swept left and, when Greg Stewart's cross came in it fell to Wilson, standing all alone and so close to Scott Bain that he could have heard him gulp. His volley was thumped into the ground and bounced up and over the Celtic goalkeeper's crossbar.
Edouard wasted a decent chance soon after, but another huge moment followed. This was the second act of wastefulness from Wilson. Scott McKenna did wonderfully to win the ball before bombing down the left and curling a gorgeous ball across goal and into the path of Sam Cosgrove.
The striker's shot was beaten away by Bain, but when the loose ball broke to Wilson, it looked certain that the Dons were about to take the lead. Instead, Wilson struck his shot off the outside of Bain's right-hand post and wide.
It was a calamitous miss and, sure enough, Aberdeen were made to pay for it, just as Kilmarnock were made to pay for not executing at Celtic Park last week when the game was still goalless. Looking gift horses in the mouth is not the best plan against the champions.
Seven minutes after Wilson's miss, Lustig got away from Stevie May and dived to head in McGregor's excellent delivery from the left. It was yet another assist for McGregor, a titan of this team – and there'd be a second one later on.
Lustig's terrific finish was the cue for the celebrations. Celtic only needed a point to lock down the title. They cruised on to take all three.
Celtic doubled their lead eight minutes into the new half. An out-swinging McGregor corner was headed home by Simunovic, the centre-half who, over the last few weeks, has showed the centre-forwards how to do it.
The hosts had a chance or two to halve the deficit but couldn't produce Celtic's efficiency in front of goal. They worked hard and got frustrated at times.
Cosgrove was fortunate not to be sent off when he brought down Jonny Hayes, who had appeared for Kieran Tierney. The full-back, still slightly diminished by injury, will now surely be wrapped in cotton wool before the cup final and that tilt for the treble treble.
Celtic's title day had a last flourish when they broke free and Edouard added a third, and a 21st for the season. That well and truly sent the visitors into raptures.
"Look I'm here to do a job and I've done it"
'Second half was comprehensive' – reaction
Celtic interim manager Neil Lennon: "It's a great way to get over the line and now we can enjoy it.
"I'm really delighted with my defence. Simunovic has come back in beside Ajer and has been outstanding, Lustig outstanding, Kieran already a Celtic great, and my goalkeeper has been unbelievable.
"He was unbelievable today when we got sloppy and put a bit of pressure on ourselves, but the second half was comprehensive."
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "I thought we were well in the game. Celtic started the game in charge, which is understandable as we had one or two playing out of position.
"But I thought that, once we got a foothold in the game, we had good opportunities and looked a threat on the counter-attack.
"The only thing we were guilty of is not putting the ball into the net. If you don't take your chances against a team like Celtic, it comes back to bite you and it certainly did."
Full Time
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Second Half
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BBC
Celtic's Neil Lennon says 'I'm here to do a job and I've done it' after title is secured
From the section Celtic
Watch: Celtic players and staff celebrate eighth successive title with supporters
Neil Lennon says any manager who succeeded Brendan Rodgers at Celtic this season would have needed "the hide of a rhinoceros and big cojones".
Lennon took charge in February after Rodgers left for Leicester City with his side one third of the way towards a third treble in a row.
Lennon secured Celtic's eighth successive title on Saturday, with the Scottish Cup final to come.
"I certainly have a rhino hide," Lennon said after the 3-0 win at Aberdeen.
"On the outside it probably looks easy but on the inside there was a lot of discontent and agitation around the club at the time. You had to keep calm.
"I'm here to do a job and I've done it. I didn't ask for the job – I got asked to do it short term. I am pleased with my staff for helping me through it.
"Some of the performances weren't great but we are unbeaten in 11 games so the standard and expectation is very, very high."
Lennon thanked chief executive Peter Lawwell and major shareholder Dermot Desmond for "entrusting me with getting the job done" and also paid tribute to fellow Northern Irishman Rodgers "because he's laid the foundations for all this".
Celtic title reaction & as it happened
Match report: Aberdeen 0-3 Celtic
Tierney dedicates win to Lisbon Lions
Under Rodgers, Celtic beat Aberdeen to retain the League Cup and had already established an eight-point lead over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
Lennon's side are now 12 ahead of their city rivals having played a game more and the former Celtic midfielder has now secured his sixth trophy in two spells as their team boss.
"These are great moments in your life and career and you have to savour them," he told BBC Scotland's Sportsound. "We kept really calm this week and eventually burst over the line with a bit of a swagger, which is something I've looked for for a little while."
Five games that helped Celtic win eight in a row
'The fans are talking about 10 in a row'
Lennon realises that Celtic fans will be thinking of beating the nine-in-a-row title runs achieved by their club from 1966-74 and Rangers from 1989-97.
"The fans are talking about nine and 10, but let's enjoy eight first," he said. "It was a great way to get over the line and now we can enjoy it.
"That was the big one for me personally coming in to get the league title in the bag."
Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney, who will need an operation at the end of the season, was taken off during the second half and Lennon confirmed "he will be wrapped up in cotton wool until he is ready to play again ahead of the cup final" against Hearts on 25 May.
Billy McNeill, who captained Celtic to European Cup final victory in 1967, and Stevie Chalmers, who scored the winning goal, have both died this month.
Asked if the title would be dedicated to the club legends, Lennon added: "Why not? I can't think of two more worthy people to dedicate to. If the Celtic fans and the board want to do that, I would be 100% behind that."
'They've done it in style' – analysis
Former Celtic goalkeeper and BBC pundit Pat Bonner
In the second half, that was probably the best performance I have seen from Celtic under Neil Lennon. They created chances and controlled the game.
They've done it in style today and they've done Billy proud.
BBC
Celtic's Kieran Tierney dedicates title win to Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers
From the section Celtic
Watch: Celtic players and staff celebrate eighth successive title with supporters
Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney has dedicated Celtic's eighth league title in a row to club legends Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers.
Both members of Celtic's 1967 European Cup winning side died in the last two weeks, with McNeill's funeral being held on Friday.
"This league title's for them," Tierney said after Celtic retained their title with a 3-0 win over Aberdeen.
"Everyone looks up to them and they are special people."
Celtic needed at least a draw at Pittodrie to secure the title with two games remaining ahead of city rivals Rangers.
The stats behind Celtic's title win
'I'm here to do a job and I've done it' – Lennon
Match report: Celtic win title with 3-0 win over Dons
Can you name all the players to help Celtic to the title?
"I'm buzzing for the fans – you can see what it means to the fans and ourselves for all the work we've put in," boyhood Celtic supporter Tierney told BBC Scotland.
"It was a big pressure game for us. Coming up here, they were going to make it hard and you're needing a draw, but that's not our mentality.
"We wanted to win this game and we've done that and we've kept a clean sheet as well."
'You savour these moments as you get older'
Captain Scott Brown thought Celtic, who won thanks to goals from Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic and Odsonne Edouard, had "played an excellent game".
"The first half was really tight, but the second half we controlled it a lot better and it was a great performance overall," he said.
"As you get older, you've got to savour these moments and it is a very special moment for me to lift that eight in a row."
Celtic already led the Scottish Premiership when Neil Lennon returned to became interim manager after Brendan Rodgers' departure to Leicester City.
Asked if Lennon should be given the job permanently, midfielder Brown replied: "He's been brilliant for me the last time he was here and he's been brilliant this time, so it would be great if he did.
"But it's not up to me, it's up to the board and I'm sure they'll make the right decision whatever happens."