Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen: Derek McInnes bemoans Dons' bad luck

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes felt his side needed to show more conviction in the final third

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says luck favoured Celtic as his side lost 3-0 to the defending champions.

Celtic opened the scoring when Mikael Lustig's shot deflected off Dominic Ball and past Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis.

Aberdeen defenders were unfortunate in the build up to a "slapdash" second goal for Jonny Hayes and Kenny McLean's mistake led to Olivier Ntcham's third.

"The luckiest team won. It was harsh on us." McInnes said.

"I didn't think there was anything in the first half, they got the break for the goal then that settles them down.

"We made contact, our pressing was good, or quality on the ball was good and we passed up a couple of opportunities. I was preparing my half-time team talk to show more conviction.

"Then they got a huge slice of luck. The referee's in Joe's eye line as well, but when it comes off Dominic Ball's back it totally diverts the direction.

"For anybody who wasn't here, it looks like normal practice for Celtic, but I thought for a good hour it certainly wasn't."

Aberdeen midfielder Kenny McLean's mistake led directly to Celtic's third goal

McInnes felt his side needed to show more conviction in the final third, but also that the visitors put on a good display despite missing four first-team regulars.

"We've been really unlucky, but you always search for positives, especially against a team like Celtic," McInnes said.

"We've got to be better in the opposition box, that's where some level of criticism comes for my team.

"We had to make a few adjustments, with [Shay] Logan not travelling, [Scott] McKenna pulling up with his calf tight, [Stevie] May getting ruled out yesterday, [Ryan] Christie already not playing. That's four boys who would normally start for us and have been part of a winning run.

"So by and large the level of performance was really pleasing. There's still disappointment, but also an acknowledgment there were still some positives to take."

Celtic winger Jonny Hayes scored his first goal for the club in the win over Aberdeen

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised his players for their battling qualities, and also for being ruthless in finishing opportunities to score.

"It was a brilliant result for us and a very good second half," the Celtic manager said.

"We had to compete and our fluency wasn't what we would like. We got a little bit of good fortune with the first goal, but it came in a period when we started to move the ball much better and created one or two other chances before that.

"Second half I have to give huge applause to the players, the physicality of the game. We had to adjust a few things tactically to get our positioning better. When you're looking to win that battle you can sometimes forget that you need to play football and I had to give the players that calming influence.

"The second half, the players were magnificent in that in the second half, we got three good goals and finished off opportunities clinically."