Eleven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic made tough work of St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this afternoon.
With Rangers still to play St Mirren at 3pm, the pressure is now on the Ibrox club after Celtic found their ruthless streak in 23 final second-half minutes.
Goals from Callum McGregor, James Forrest and the stunning strike from Matt O’Riley was enough to see off Craig Levein’s men and take all three points back to the east end of Glasgow.
But for Brendan Rodgers, despite being desperately unhappy with Celtic’s first-half performance, he hailed his captain, Callum McGregor for his role in the win over The Saints.
Brendan Rodgers hails Callum McGregor in Celtic win vs St Johnstone
McGregor led by example in the second half and dragged Celtic to the win after his stunning strike put the teams on an even keel.
The Celtic captain remained industrious and seemed to cover every blade of grass and Rodgers singled him for his part in the 3-1 win.
Rodgers said [Sky Sports], “We were too comfortable. The second half was what I would expect. Much better energy and tempo to the game.
“Callum McGregor was absolutely brilliant in the second half and his goal, it didn’t look like it was coming, but it sparked the reaction.
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“So in the second half, we were where I would expect us to be.”
Celtic improve after first-half struggles at McDiarmid Park
The first half was a really poor affair. Misplaced passes, placid, toothless and no dynamism, Celtic really struggled to break down a St Johnstone defence that was solid, compact and highly organised.
The goal Celtic lost was almost a carbon copy of what the fans saw in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell last weekend as Joe Hart was found wanting again inside his six-yard box.
But Celtic seemed to kick into gear late on in the second half and after a point-blank save by Hart saved their blushes and stopped a St Johnstone equaliser, only for the Hoops to run up the pitch and seal the win with a James Forrest goal.
With three points in the bag, Celtic can now look forward to a home fixture against Hibs where Brendan Rodgers will look for a much-improved performance from his Bhoys.
In other news, £35m player linked to Celtic in the summer is to leave his club in January