Celtic moved four points clear of bitter rivals Rangers heading into the international break after Kyogo Furuhashi’s volley at Ibrox clinched the Glasgow derby bragging rights.
Facing off against each other for the first time this season, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Beale went head-to-head and it was the Northern Irishman who celebrated his first victory over Rangers since returning to the Parkhead hotseat.
Any question marks surrounding Rodgers were put to bed with that statement win settled by Kyogo’s decisive moment on the stroke of half-time when he capitalised on some slack Gers defending to rifle home his sixth goal in five starts in the showpiece clash.
Celtic were let off the hook within the opening minute when Rabbi Matondo’s effort was disallowed for offside, before Kemar Roofe had another chopped off by referee Don Robertson for a contentious Cyriel Dessers’ foul on Gustaf Lagerbielke in the build-up.
Despite the presence of NO away fans in Govan, it was the Scottish champions who stood firm in the closing stages to move top-of-the-table.
Here’s our Celtic player ratings following the narrow victory:
Unused subs: Scott Bain (GK), Luis Palma, Yuki Kobayashi, Kwon Hyeok-kyu.
9. David Turnbull - 6/10
Tried his best to impact the game but found it tough going. Solid during his defensive duties but didn’t do a great deal going forward. Subbed. | Getty Images
10. Liel Abada - 7/10
Made a number of clever direct runs and will feel he should’ve had an assist after Kyogo’s early miss. Forced a brilliant save from jack Butland early in the second half before fading. Subbed. | Getty Images
11. Daizen Maeda - 7/10
Another tireless shift from the versatile Japanese attacker. Diluted Tavernier’s attacking threat and looked dangerous at times going forward. | Getty Images
12. Kyogo Furuhashi - 9/10
Mana of the moment again versus Rangers. Could easily have bagged a first-half hat-trick and caused the Gers backline so many problems. Made up for squandering those chances by producing a terrific finish on the stroke of half-time. Top class. | Getty Images