THERE was never the hint Celtic would stage a repeat of last season’s banana skin when they toppled out of the League Cup at the first hurdle against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Any chance of a second successive clean sweep was obliterated in Ayrshire as comeback manager Brendan Rodgers suffered his first domestic Cup defeat in Scottish football following his seven successive trophies in his first stint.
Hibs posed the threat at the opening stage of this term’s competition, but the Edinburgh side were blown away by a determined Hoops outfit during a clinical 3-1 triumph at Parkhead.
PICK IT OUT…Daizen Maeda knocks in the first of his double against Hibs.
The hosts were two goals ahead by the 17th minute thanks to a double strike from Daizen Maeda, proving he is a more than capable deputy for Kyogo Furuhashi who sat this one out.
The Leith side did pull one back before the interval when a soaring header left Kasper Schmeichel helpless as he conceded his first goal in competitive action after two clean sheets against Kilmarnock (4-0) and Hibs (2-0) in his previous outings.
Any concerns, though, were dispelled when Nicolas Kuhn capitalised on some slack defensive play by the Edinburgh back lot to restore the two-goal advantage,
It’s worth a second watch, provided by those good folk at Celtic TV Unique Angle.
Please enjoy!
