Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side threw down a huge gauntlet in the Premiership title race with a devastating performance in tonight’s Old Firm clash, with the Bhoys running out comfortable 3-0 winners at Parkhead.
In a whirlwind first half, Reo Hatate continued the breathtaking start to his Celtic career with two stunning long-range strikes that saw Celtic race into a two-goal lead, before the Japan international put Liel Abada on a plate with a pinpoint cross to make it 3-0 shortly before the interval.
The second half was much less dramatic, with the Hoops appearing happy to drop further back and allow the visitors more time on the ball – something that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side failed to capitalise on, with the scoreline remaining 3-0 when the final whistle blew.
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However, while Hatate will undoubtedly steal tomorrow morning’s headlines, it will perhaps be the performance of Josip Juranovic that will have most pleased Postecoglou on Wednesday night – as the right-back played a crucial role in a victory that Chris Sutton dubbed an “absolute pumping” of the former league leaders.
“Absolutely outstanding”
Over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the Croatia international turned in a performance of the highest quality – both in a defensive and offensive capacity.
At the back, the £3.6m-rated defender made five tackles, one interception, two clearances, blocked two shots and won six of his nine duels – a success rate of 67%.
Going forwards, the 26-year-old completed one cross, three long balls, made one key pass and enjoyed 63 touches of the ball – the seventh-most of any player to feature in the match.
These returns saw the £16k-per-week dynamo earn a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.7, ranking him as the joint third-best player to feature in the derby – with Sutton dubbing his display as “absolutely outstanding.”
Indeed, it is easy to see why the former Celtic centre-forward felt this way, as Juranovic’s calmness in possession of the ball, solidity when defending and ability to set his side off on counter-attacks was clear for all to see on Wednesday, with the defender playing a crucial role in what is arguably the Bhoys’ biggest result of the season.
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