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Brendan Rodgers hails 'exceptional' Celtic after Old Firm thrashing

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers congratulates Scott Brown as he is substituted at Ibrox (1-5 game)

Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to his "exceptional" Celtic players after they thrashed Rangers 5-1 at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Scottish Premiership champions are now five matches away from ending the domestic season unbeaten.

They scored five past Rangers for the second time this season but Rodgers felt the victory, their fifth in six Old Firm meetings, could have been even more one-sided.

Celtic's Scott Sinclair celebrates with Leigh Griffiths after he scores a penalty for his side
Image: Celtic's Scott Sinclair celebrates with Leigh Griffiths

"It was an outstanding team performance," he told Sky Sports. "From the very first whistle we were exceptional. The only disappointment was we could have scored more goals.

"We created really good chances to score more. We made a really good start and before the game I said we thought they would maybe play a diamond and we were able to exploit that down the sides.

"We had a number of chances. Some of our football was exceptional, quick combinations at speed.

"Fundamentally, the players pressed the game very well. Our tactical organisation for getting the ball back was key today. Very pleased and another three points."

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Highlights of Celtic's 5-1 win over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership

Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney agreed with his manager, adding: "We actually could have had a few more goals. We played brilliant today."

Hoops skipper Scott Brown said: "The lads were outstanding from start to finish. We've come here twice and we've won twice so it shows you everyone is looking as sharp as they possibly can."

Rodgers continued: "A lot of our game has improved as the season has gone on. I said when I came in, we would get better and better.

"If you compare that 5-1 to the 5-1 earlier this season, there's a big difference for me in terms of tactical organisation and players understanding the concepts of what we're trying to do."

Leigh Griffiths, who replaced the injured Moussa Dembele on Saturday, scored 40 goals for Celtic last season.

He has played second fiddle to Dembele this year but stepped in to score his ninth league goal of the season as all five Celtic goals were scored by different players.

Celtic's Leigh Griffiths fires home a thunderous strike to double the away side's lead
Image: Griffiths fires home a thunderous strike to double the away side's lead

"I came in and everyone was talking about Leigh Griffiths getting 40 goals [last season]," Rodgers said.

"After that the second highest goalscorer was Tom Rogic with 10. That was something that needed to change and it has changed.

"Collectively they all understand their roles in terms of getting forward and who needs to score goals and who needs to be effective.

"You saw that today, lots of different players scoring from different positions."

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