CALLUM McGREGOR led by example yet again as the Celtic captain guided his players through the derby minefield to a well-deserved 3-0 triumph over Philippe Clement’s stunned Ibrox side.
The all-action Hoops onfield leader capped a wonderful display with a breathtaking left-foot drive that whizzed past the helpless Jack Butland for the champions’ final goal at a pulsating Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were on their way to victory after an interval advantage courtesy of two strikes from Japanese double-act Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi.
The prolific hitman was also denied what looked like a perfectly legitimate opening goal in the 11th minute following a wafer-thin VAR offside judgement against Nicolas Kuhn in the build-up.
DERBY DAY DELIGHT…Callum McGregor applauds the Celtic fans after the 3-0 triumph.
As the applause from the joyous fans ricocheted around the stadium in the afterglow of a job well done, McGregor took time out to praise new Bhoys Arne Engels, the club’s record £11million deadline-day recruit, and Luke McCowan, a £1million arrival from Dundee at the same time.
The inspirational Hoops anchorman had a quick word with the ex-Dens Park midfielder as he came on moments after his memorable strike and said: “He’s got massive quality.
“When you come into a game like that, it’s always good to have your mates around you and just look after them and the new guys, just settle them in.
“I just said to him: ‘Go and play, you’ve got massive quality, just go and run about, I’ll be with you, so let’s just go’.
“He was fantastic when he came on. To be thrown into a game like that, big expectation, big pressure, he was excellent.
WELCOME TO PARADISE…Callum McGregor embraces Luke McCowan at full-time while Arne Engels (below) looks slightly stunned by the reaction of the Celtic fans at the end of a landslide derby success.
“Luke’s technically very good, can get about the pitch and, hopefully, now we bring him in, show him the system, he learns, he gets better from there. But he’s certainly got all the attributes to do well and he’s in a great group to learn as well.
“I’ve got no worries for him.”
Engels, who replaced the superb Paulo Bernardo shortly after the hour mark, also slotted right in to the midfield and McGregor, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “It’s always good for the new guys, their first experience to be a positive one.
“Obviously, all the boys who come in and make their debut in this fixture, they’ll go away with a good feeling and understand what it’s about.
“They were first class, really enjoyed it and it was a strong performance. Hopefully, that’s a nice way to bed them in.”
WALLOP…Callum McGregor fires in his spectacular drive with the ball hurtling towards its destination for No.3 in the runaway victory. Reo Hatate gets a good view while Ibrox duo John Souttar and Dujan Sterling can only look on in misery.
UNSTOPPABLE…keeper Jack Butland can only look back helplessly as Callum McGregor’s thumping drive hits the net.
McGregor added to his list of eye-catching strikes with his third in successive league outings folowing whizzbang efforts against Hibs at Easter Road and St Mirren in Paisley.
The 31-year-old ultra-reliable performer explained: “I just think sometimes you get yourself into these positions and when your luck’s in and you feel good, they seem to go in.
“I’m happy with that. When you play in these games, you want to do well and help the team as much as you can.
“The boys will tell you when you score in this fixture, it’s probably as good a feeling as you’ll get in football. I’m absolutely delighted. But the most important thing is the team, how we played and the result.”
McGregor smiled and added: “Excellent, I thought.
“Performance, quality of goals, quality of defending, the way the team worked for each other, it had a bit of everything and we were probably unlucky not to get more goals.
“Boys were working ever so hard for each other and then that quality, especially on transition, was first class. These games are always pivotal in the season.
“You want to win them, first and foremost, and if you can do it and match the performance, then great.”
