Scottish heavyweights Celtic have dominated their domestic campaign under Brendan Rodgers who guided them to win their sixth consecutive Scottish Premiership title as well as Scottish League Cup trophy. The Hoops are still unbeaten in domestic competitions and their season finale against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup decider was an opportunity to register a ‘treble’ and finish the campaign on a high note remaining invincible.
Aberdeen, on the other hand, was seeking revenge against Celtic who defeated them in an identical fixture in League Cup final at Hampden Park. Despite scoring early in the game, the Dons suffered a late heartbreak when Celtic substitute Tom Rogic turned the fortunes around and scored the winning goal in injury time in order to create history for the Scottish giants. Below are the Celtic players rated from the game:
Craig Gordon: 6
Struggled with his distribution that often caused troubles for his side. Made a few smart stops in both halves. Could have done little to deny Jonny Hayes’ early strike who was left unmarked following Niall Mcginn’s corner.
Mikael Lustig: 6.5
Lustig had a quiet afternoon as he did not offer much in attack and was at fault defensively when Hayes scored an early opener. He lifted his game since half-time and linked up well with Patrick Roberts down the right flank. He set the ball up for Tom Rogic who found the back of the net following a solo run and earned his side a domestic ‘treble’ in stoppage time.
Jozo Simunovic: 6
Looked nervy while defending set-pieces ( particularly corners) repeatedly during the first half. But the Croatian pulled off a few decisive blocks and tackles that helped his side to retain defensive composure throughout the game.
Dedryck Boyata: 6.5
Boyata offered a great physical presence in the back-line alongside Simunovic. Although looked a bit shaky while defending corners, the Belgian international was a massive aerial threat from Celtic’s set-piece.
Kieran Tierney: 6
Started the game brightly with attacking runs and beautiful link up play with Scott Sinclair. But was forced to leave the field within half an hour following an injury and was replaced by Australian Tom Rogic who proved to be the match-winner.
Scott Brown: 7
The skipper offered physicality in the middle of the park and kept on making infringements to break Aberdeen’s counter attacks. His combativeness helped his side to control the game from midfield.
Stuart Armstrong: 6.5
Scored his 17th goal of this campaign when he equalised within a couple of minutes following his left-footed strike from outside the box. Made some smart movements to tee up his fellow attackers.
Patrick Roberts: 7.5
Had a quiet first half, however, the Manchester City loanee showed his worth since half-time and kept on troubling the Dons’ backline with his cut-ins, dribbling, skills and long rangers. Almost scored the winning goal in closing minutes, but his thunderous effort struck the woodwork. Was taken off in closing seconds to be replaced by Erik Sviatchenko.
Callum McGregor: 7
The midfielder did well to set the ball up for Armstrong who cancelled out Hayes’ opener. Was forced to deputise at left-back since Tierney’s injury. He made a defensive howler in second half which Aberdeen failed to capitalize. Improved his game since that mistake by tracking back and pulling off few crucial blocks in critical minutes.
Scott Sinclair: 6
Should have wrapped the game up much earlier but missed a tap in from point-blank range inside the added time of first half. Came close to score in second half as well, but was denied a couple of times by the Dons keeper Joe Lewis.
Leigh Griffiths: 6
Was handed a start in place of Frenchman Moussa Dembele. Was impressive from set-pieces but failed to find the back of the net from limited opportunities as he was well contained by the Dons’ back-line.
Substitutes
Tom Rogic: 8
Rogic replaced injured Tierney in first half. The Australian, who missed a few months of football due to injury, had great scoring record against Aberdeen during this campaign. He scored in the league cup final against the Dons and repeated the same when he found the back of the net during the stoppage time in second half and secured a historic treble for the hoops.
Erik Sviatchenko: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
