Celtic took a step closer to defending their domestic treble after booking a place in the finals of the Scottish League Cup through a 4-2 victory over Hibernian on Saturday.
Hibs proved their worth, threatening to mount a comeback twice while 2 goals behind, but inspired substitutions from manager Brendan Rodgers proved too much for Neil Lennon’s men.
The duo of Moussa Dembele and Tom Rogic came off the bench to deliver the goods, with the Frenchman putting Celtic up 3-1, while the Australian assisted the strikers’ 2nd goal of the game that delivered the biggest blow to Hib’s chances.
The Bhoys have now gone 60 domestic games without a loss, and captain Scott Brown believes the incredible run has been made possible by the quality depth in squad at Parkhead.
Playmaker James Forrest, another of Rodgers’ subs had a hand in both of Dembele’s 2nd half brace, and considering the accompanying fatigue that came with Wednesday’s energy-consuming 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, Celtic might hadn’t scaled through if they lacked quality on the bench.
Speaking post-match on the preparations and results of the clash, Brown said: “It was all right, we got a day off on Thursday to chill and relax and let our legs feel normal again.
“We got back to understanding our shape in training on Friday. You are always going to feel a bit of fatigue but we got subs on that gave us a bit more momentum in the second half.
“Jamesy came on and Tom, who is always nice and relaxed on the ball and composed, and Moussa is always a goal threat.
“The size of him scares defenders and he holds the ball in and gives us a different way to play.”
Brown and his colleagues travel to Aberdeen on Wednesday as league action resumes, and the game at Pittodrie could prove to be their toughest domestic clash so far.
However, given the several options of quality players available to the visitors, returning to Parkhead with at least a point looks feasible.
