Celtic FC, the defending Scottish League Cup champions, locked horns against former Celtic gaffer Neil Lennon’s Hibernian FC at Hampden Park this afternoon in the semifinal. Brendan Rodgers’ men have been unbeaten in domestic competitions since the ex-Liverpool gaffer took charge last summer and were confident of clinching another comfortable victory with a view to set an epic final clash against age-old rivals Rangers FC who are favourites to win the other semifinal against Motherwell tomorrow.
The Hoops, as expected, secured a 4-2 triumph against the Hibs and are now one step away from their title defence.
Below are the Celtic players rated from this fixture.
Craig Gordon: 6
Gordon pulled off a decent save to deny Anthony Stokes but was unlucky as he conceded twice in the game. Stokes scored from a spot-kick and substitute Oliver Shaw netted within seconds of his second-half introduction.
Mikael Lustig: 8.5
The Swedish international right-back had a decent outing against Bayern Munich in a centre-back role despite suffering a 3-0 defeat. However, he returned to his usual slot this afternoon and scored twice in the first-half. Looked a constant attacking threat down the right-hand flank.
Dedryck Boyata: 7
Boyata was at fault in the Hibs’ first goal as he fouled Martin Boyle in the box and Stokes made no mistake to convert from the spot. He looked decent otherwise, blocked a couple of efforts, threatened aerially from set-pieces and also set it up for Lustig to break the deadlock.
Nir Bitton: 6.5
Bitton, though prefers to play in midfield, was brought back in the Hoops’ backline due to several major injury absentees and the Israeli international often struggled to contain Anthony Stokes. He made a few crucial clearances though and pulled off blocks and interceptions as well.
Kieran Tierney: 6.5
Threatened the Hibs backline with his forward runs, shooting skills and link-up play with Scott Sinclair. Needs to concentrate more on his defensive duties.
Scott Brown: 7.5
Was clumsy while tackling at times, but the skipper combated well in the middle of the park, snatched and won back possession and did not allow his opponents to control the game in midfield.
Stuart Armstrong: 7
Armstrong looked impressive with his movements in midfield, stretched the game in both the flanks using the width of the pitch and played a few smart one-twos upfront to create space in the Hibs’ defence. Was taken off midway of the second half to be replaced by Tom Rogic.
Patrick Roberts: 6
Made a few purposeful runs, tried out from the distance to find the back of the net but had an average outing overall and was replaced by James Forrest around an hour mark.
Callum McGregor: 6.5
Could not assist a goal or find the back of the net, but the Scotsman looked promising in an attacking midfield role, w played a few decent one-twos and opened up space for his attackers up front.
Scott Sinclair: 8
Sinclair troubled the Hibs defence with his pace, dribbling skills and cut insides. Set it up for substitute Moussa Dembele who scored minutes after coming on as Griffiths’ substitute.
Leigh Griffiths: 7.5
Assisted Lustig and Celtic’s second of the afternoon, but did not offer much in attack to test the opponent custodian Ross Laidlaw. Was taken off and replaced by Moussa Dembele in the second half.
Substitutes
James Forrest: 7
Forrest was a real influence in Celtic’s attack with his directness from the right-hand flank and forced Laidlaw in making a couple of stops in quick succession.
Moussa Dembele: 8.5
Dembele came on as a second-half substitute in place of Griffiths and scored a poacher’s goal within minutes of his introduction. Scored again in closing minutes of the game after picking up a pass from Tom Rogic.
Tom Rogic: 7.5
The Australian had an impressive cameo with his footwork, ball control, and vision. Assisted their fourth goal of the game that sealed the deal for the Hoops.
