Celtic

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Now the celebrations have died down, there will be an air of quiet satisfaction around Celtic Park.

With green and white ribbons adorning Scottish football's first domestic prize and progress in the Champions League tantalisingly close, Brendan Rodgers couldn't have done much more.

The only box not ticked? A perfect record for the first 15 matches. Forty-three points from 45 doesn't fall far short, though.

So where do Celtic go from here?

From a position of some strength, the Parkhead hierarchy will be expected to build. They're about to enter one of the most critical transfer windows in the club's recent history.

Next summer, for the first time in four years, Celtic will have to qualify for the Champions League whether they finish first or second this season.

They will need to be ready to hit the ground running as soon as pre-season starts, which means the manager will want to strengthen early in the year to make sure he can bed players in properly before trying to negotiate tricky European qualifiers.

The knock-on effect for everyone else in Scottish football is potentially daunting. An already deep squad, with decent cover in every position, may well be bolstered yet further.

A big lead in the league, a trophy already in the cabinet and a bank balance healthier than it ever has been. There is much to admire about the way the club has gone about its business, especially when it comes to the manager.

A year ago, the natives were more than a little restless. Many of them had not rolled out the red carpet for the return of Rodgers. Now that he has three of the last four domestic trophies, few fans have any issue at all with his presence.

He hit a few speed bumps on the road when he first arrived back, but he's cruising in the fast lane now. The momentum he's building will take some stopping.

Even a very good Rangers performance at Hampden last weekend couldn't stop the Celtic juggernaut.

They haven't reached top speed in the past few weeks yet still found ways to get over the line. Any time things have properly clicked, opponents have been hit for five and six.

A year is indeed a long time in football. It feels a lot longer than 12 months since the side was booed off at home, even in victory.

The worrying thing for those in Celtic's rear-view mirror now is the realisation that such success has become habitual.

If Rodgers' Parkhead project continues to gather speed, the distance to anyone in the chasing pack could soon become insurmountable.

Rangers are showing significant signs of improvement. Aberdeen are as good as they've been in years. The problem for everyone else, so it would seem, is so are Celtic.

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There wasn't much Neil Lennon could do to get on Martin O'Neill's bad side.

Even when the former Celtic boss caught the ex-captain doing an impression of him, he was let off the hook, Alan Stubbs recalls.

When O'Neill was appointed manager of the Parkhead side, he was desperate to bring Lennon, who played under his fellow Northern Irishman at Leicester, to the club.

After six months in Glasgow, Lennon and O'Neill were reunited and the pair went on to enjoy huge success, winning three top-flight titles, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup together in Scotland.

"Neil was Martin's lovechild," ex-Celtic defender Stubbs told the BBC's Sacked in the Morning podcast. "O'Neill loved Lenny and Lenny could get away with everything.

"Lenny used to always do a great impression of Martin. When we were out he'd get a pair of glasses, slide the glasses down his nose and you would actually think it was Martin talking.

"There were a couple of times Martin walked in the room and Lenny's actually been doing it. He'd just give Lenny the look without saying anything."

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Zak Lovelace netted a late winner as Rangers B team edged their Celtic counterparts 3-2 to lift the Glasgow Cup at the City Stadium.

The Ibrox side - featuring first-team players Oscar Cortes and Rabbi Matondo - twice led through Paul Nsio and Cole McKinnon.

Daniel Cummings and Samuel Isiguzo levelled for Celtic before substitute Lovelace struck the 87th-minute winner as penalties loomed.

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Paulo Bernardo says Celtic's League Cup success has fuelled their hunger to keep the silverware coming this season.

Brendan Rodgers' side lifted the first trophy of the campaign on Sunday after beating Rangers 5-4 on penalties following a 3-3 Hampden thriller.

The defending champions are already galloping clear in the Premiership - with a nine-point lead over second-place Aberdeen - and on course to reach the Champions League play-offs as well as having the Scottish Cup to defend in the new year.

"It was the first of the season, we want more," Portuguese midfielder Bernardo told Celtic TV.

"We are focused on the next game. We won the trophy two days ago, so it gives us a lot of confidence for the next months."

Bernardo believes Celtic's winning mentality helped drag them to glory in Sunday's final.

"I think it's down to our mentality," he said. "It was a very good victory because we never backed down. We fought until the end and we got the result in the penalties, so it was really important to us.

"It was a really tough game. We had more ball and we had more shots on target [than Rangers]. We know we can play a little bit better football and we will try to do it in the next game.

"But finals are about winning. We did it and we are very happy."

Tino
Fan writer

In the aftermath of Sunday's exhilarating (but exhausting) League Cup final, Brendan Rodgers said the outcome on the day came down to two key factors.

A strong mentality, and a strong desire to win. His Celtic side have both qualities in abundance.

It is generally accepted that the team who scores first in a cup final more often than not goes on to lift the trophy. But someone forgot to tell Daizen Maeda. And Kasper Schmeichel. And Cameron Carter-Vickers.

There's no doubt Celtic were below their best and the sharpness and intricate passing we've enjoyed during the season so far was largely lacking at a windswept Hampden.

Moments of slackness contributed to all three of Rangers' goals, a fact that will have given cause for concern to both the manager and fans.

However, in football sometimes it is less about the errors you make, and more about how you respond to them that can make all the difference.

Greg Taylor made a huge mistake in the lead-up to Rangers' opening goal, and then followed up with a repeat that almost saw us go two down.

And while he had Carter-Vickers to thank for saving the day on that occasion it was Taylor's own desire to atone for his errors that was most impressive.

While others may choose to hide and play safe he continued to show for the ball in tight areas and ultimately was the man who dragged us back in to the game with his 56th minute strike.

Massive goals then followed from the machine that is Daizen Maeda, and the clinical Nicolas Kuhn, and we all thought we were headed for a stress-free Sunday.

However, that wasn't to be and so the Bhoys had to again regroup and refocus for what would eventually become 'the lottery' of a penalty shootout.

A lottery, however, is described as a game of chance, and if anyone thinks that the execution of Celtic's five perfect penalties, and the heroics of Schmeichel - all at the Rangers end of Hampden - were anything to do with luck then they haven't been watching closely enough.

It takes character, bravery and belief to finish off a contest in such a way but these are the characteristics of a Rodgers side, and of a side who continue to write their own piece of Celtic history.

And while we fans will bask in the glory of this one for a few days yet, Rodgers has already turned attentions to Dundee Utd this weekend.

That, as they say, is why we're champions.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

Despite rumours that on-loan Alex Valle could be recalled by Barcelona in January, the left-back will not leave Celtic until the end of the season, with the 20-year-old expecting to return a better player and hoping to remain with the La Liga club next term. (Mundo Deportivo), external

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard are among those listed by bookmakers as possible replacements for sacked ex-Scotland defender Russell Martin at Southampton. (The Scotsman), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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James Forrest said it's "a pleasure" to represent Celtic through such a golden era in their history after he moved level with Bobby Lennox as their most decorated player of all time.

Forrest has now won 25 major honours with the Hoops since making his debut in 2010 and will move out on his own if he wins one more trophy for his boyhood club.

The Scotland international stressed that his achievements in green and white were testament to the sustained period of dominance they have enjoyed within Scottish football under the likes of Neil Lennon, Ronny Deila, Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers.

"I think that's just a kind of bonus," Forrest said of moving alongside Lennox, who won his 25 trophies in the 1960s and 70s.

"I've said before, I've been a part of different eras, different teams in Celtic over the years and it's been a pleasure.

"And I think if maybe I wasn't part of successful teams, I maybe wouldn't have been here (as long). I think it's a great credit to the teams I've been involved in and loads of people putting in great work over the years and I'm just delighted to be a part of that.

"It's great to be a part of this club on days like this. You see the fans at the end, all the players and staff together, it's unbelievable to be a part of. I've cherished every minute I've been here and hopefully there's more to come."

Forrest loved the dramatic nature of the victory but insisted it did not hold more significance than any other triumph of which he had been involved.

"To be honest, I just always think you can never really look back at any cup and go, 'oh, it didn't mean as much as another one'," he said.

"It's just like any other cup, you're playing a cup final for Celtic, so no matter if you're playing against your biggest rivals or someone else, the pressure is on the players and the demand is there from the fans as well.

"I think all the players and staff really came through and you've seen the way the fans were buzzing at the end, so it was a great day."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Kasper Schmeichel: Has been a steadfast figure between the sticks for Celtic. His huge save in the penalty shootout from Ridvan Yilmaz paved the path to the League Cup trophy.

Cameron Carter-Vickers: Celtic's leader at the back. In a day of carnage, calm assurance was in short supply but the American resonates authority and composure.

Nicolas Kuhn: There were flashes of quality from the German throughout. Truly caught fire in the moment he put Celtic 3-2 in front, which many assumed would be the winner.

Daezen Maeda: A phenomenal day for the Japanese international. Took his goal to make it 2-1 superbly well and made taking the decisive penalty in the shootout look easy. Incredible energy throughout as standard.

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Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said he was "at his calmest" when Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final headed to a penalty shoot-out.

"That was some experience," he told Premier Sports.

"An incredible atmosphere, two teams proper going for it. I'm just very glad it worked out well for us in the end.

"I know Jack [Butland] is a very confident guy, he's got incredible technique. If you can take penalties like that under pressure, fair play to him.

"That's when I feel at my calmest - that's what you practice for.

"You get to a certain stage in life where you don't know how many of those opportunities you have left and you've got to enjoy them. The most important thing is to give everything you've got and I'm glad it turned out the way it is.

"With Joe [Hart] being here for three years I watched these occasions quite a lot.

"Having played up here earlier in my career I was aware of what a club like this can produce. I'm very thankful and grateful to be given the opportunity to come here and contribute to this team."

We asked for your views on Celtic's win against Rangers in the Scottish league cup.

Here's what some of you said:

Peter: Not our best performance but still, it's trophy 119. A sign of a good team is digging out results when not playing well. Players gave everything. Great to see wee James Forrest get his 25th major title. What are the odds of him getting to 27 by May 2025? Onwards and upwards.

Steven: Celtic miles off the pace first half especially, defensive errors across the park. Rescued by our talented wingers Nicolas Kuhn and the ice-cold Daizen Maeda. Lots of lessons for Brendan Rodgers for the upcoming New Year trip across the city.

Michael: Cup final football, Celtic know how to stay calm and get the job over the line as they have dominated the Scottish game for the best part of 15 years. Rangers played well but don't have the winning mentality.

Stephen: In the first half Celtic were very poor, in the second half we only really played our real football for 15 minutes. The bottom line is, Celtic were nowhere near their best and still won

Michael: We didn't push them hard enough, too much playing backwards when we had the pace to get at them. Still, we'll take the win. Well done Celtic, a great win, showed great strength and determination.

Hugh: It was a compelling and entertaining game and one of the most competitive Old Firm finals ever. However, let's not get too carried away; Rangers played to their maximum potential and fell short, Celtic underperformed but again found a way to win. The next two transfer windows could determine who will be the dominant force for the next few years.

John: Cameron Carter-Vickers = player of the match. Four-vs-one? Not a problem. Tough game, Rangers are back playing better, they silenced Callum McGregor, and they silenced Kyogo but still can't silence Daizen Maeda.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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On a day of six goals, 11 bookings, 12 substitutions and 120 minutes of cup final bonkerdom, into penalties they went.

Chests were wheezing, legs cramping, hearts fluttering, rain falling. "Carnage, just carnage" as the Celtic defender Liam Scales said in the aftermath.

The tension, the drama, the lost-soul demeanour of Ridvan Yilmaz as he walked back to the halfway line having had his penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

The sight of Jack Butland, the Rangers goalkeeper, then having to score against Schmeichel to keep his team alive in the shoot-out, which he did.

Then the suspense as Daizen Maeda stood over that last kick, the big opportunity to finally put a gallant Rangers to sleep, which he took. Unerringly.

Maeda carries himself like a man who laughs in the face of pressure, who pokes a finger in the eye of stressful situations such as this. At no point did you really get a feeling that he was going to miss.

That's not being wise after the event. This was in real time. Maeda looked like he was in his element. He was oh so cool in the final seconds of a final that for big chunks reached epic proportions.

Read Tom English's piece in full here.

Rangers should "100%" have been awarded a penalty for Liam Scales' shirt pull on Vaclav Cerny in Sunday's Scottish League Cup final defeat by Celtic, according to former referee Bobby Madden. (Scottish Sun), external

Another former Scottish referee, Des Roache, says VAR Alan Muir broke protocol by not advising referee John Beaton to review the incident. (Daily Record), external

Kasper Schmeichel drew parallels with this Celtic side and the FA Cup-winning Leicester City team he played in, also managed by Brendan Rodgers. (Daily Record), external

Celtic were pushed to the absolute limit before extending their domestic dominance in a thrilling Scottish League Cup final derby against Rangers that was ultimately decided on penalties.

After six successful spot kicks in the shootout, Rangers' Ridvan Yilmaz's low effort was saved by Kasper Schmeichel and, although goalkeeper Jack Butland netted the holders' next kick, Daizen Maeda converted to seal the trophy for Celtic.

The triumph – after an epic 3-3 draw after extra time - extends Brendan Rodgers' record of never having lost at Hampden and leaves Ibrox counterpart Philippe Clement still searching for his first derby victory.

It also moves Celtic ahead of the silverware haul of their old rivals for the first time since the 1930's.

Celtic fans, were you at Hampden or following the action from home? Let us know your thoughts on your team's performance., external

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Former Aberdeen captain Willie Miller: "Celtic are the best team in Scotland and they've proved it once more.

"It was a good cup final for Rangers, if being defeated in a cup final can be a good thing.

"I think Phillipe Clement can rightly say that they played well and he can put forward a case to the fans that his players are beginning to respond to what he wants them to do.

"It was very, very close. It could've gone either way.

"I think Clement can be proud of the character and the fitness."

Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds: "Celtic found a way.

"Rangers brought so much to it, they ran them so close and pushed them all the way, but Celtic just have the mindset to hit five perfect penalties.

"They have the mindset of champions."

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner: "Celtic were absolutely put to the test today, but they answered it."

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Nicolas Kuhn was central to Celtic's League Cup triumph.

His 87th-minute strike in the final meant the winger scored in every round of the competition.