Celtic put their mauling in Madrid behind them with a symmetrical 6-0 win over abject Aberdeen in their cinch Premiership battle at Parkhead.
The Hoops had been crushed 6-0 by Atletico Madrid in their Champions League group stage game in Spain on Tuesday night after going down to 10 men, while the Dons exited the Europa Conference League on Thursday despite an impressive 2-2 draw with PAOK in Greece.
Back in the safer environs of the cinch Premiership, South Korean forward Yang Hyun-jun scored his first Celtic goal in the ninth minute before Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi added a second seven minutes later in an utterly dominant first half.
Winger Luis Palma scored from the spot in the 77th minute and substitutes David Turnbull and Oh Hyeon-gyu, twice, notched in 10 minutes of added time to complete a comprehensive win for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Rangers had won 2-0 at Livingston earlier in the day to put some pressure on Celtic but a one-sided victory restored their eight-point lead over their Old Firm rivals going into the international break, albeit the Light Blues have a game in hand.
Unsurprisingly, both sides made changes following their European exploits.
Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm came in for Paulo Bernardo to make his first league start while 21-year-old Yang replaced Daizen Maeda, injured in the challenge that led to his red card against Atletico Madrid.
Bojan Miovski, Jonny Hayes, Leighton Clarkson and Dante Polvara returned for the visitors.
The minute’s silence to mark Armistice Day was disrupted by some inside the stadium, which was missing several hundred registered Green Brigade members who remain suspended from Celtic Park for “unacceptable behaviours”.
The Granite City men were immediately under the cosh and in the fourth minute keeper Kelle Roos made a fantastic save from Furuhashi’s powerful drive and midfielder Matt O’Riley somehow bounced the rebound over the bar from five yards.
Roos was soon beaten, however, when he missed a Palma cross from the left and Yang, who signed from Gangwon FC in the summer, gleefully headed in from close range.
Aberdeen slumped further behind when Yang’s clever reverse pass found O’Riley and his cut-back was slid in at the near post by Furuhashi for his ninth goal of the campaign.
The visitors were struggling to cope but they had a great chance in the 22nd minute when Polvara sent Hayes racing clear but the former Celtic player slashed his shot wide of the target.
Furuhashi sclaffed another chance at the other end and Roos tipped terrific efforts from Holm and then Palma over the bar, as Celtic continued to boss possession.
A robust challenge by Dons defender Slobodan Rubezic on Furuhashi early in the second half saw both players require treatment for head knocks, the former picking up a yellow card from referee Willie Collum.
Furuhashi, however, had to be replaced by Oh, while Holm made way for Turnbull, before a Miovski flick from a Nicky Devlin cross had Celtic keeper Joe Hart making his first save.
Yang took a cut on the face in a challenge by Jack MacKenzie which would soon see him replaced by James Forrest before Celtic were awarded a penalty.
Referee Willie Collum was asked by the VAR to have a look at his pitchside monitor after MacKenzie had wiped out Oh inside the box.
When Collum pointed to the spot, Palma took a slow approach before hammering his spot-kick past Roos.
Turnbull drove in off the post in the second minute of added time and Oh added a fifth with a header from a Palma cross, before running through to drive in a sixth from an O’Riley pass.
Ancelotti demands greater intensity from Madrid ahead of Bayern clash
Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid must play with greater intensity if they are to keep their hopes of a record-extending 15th European title alive, with their Champions League semi-final tie against Bayern Munich in the balance ahead of Wednesday's second leg.
Madrid were crowned champions of LaLiga with four matches to spare on Saturday, beating Cadiz 3-0 before watching their closest rivals Barcelona slip to a 4-2 defeat against Girona.
However, that success has not stopped Ancelotti from being critical of Madrid's performance in last week's first leg against Bayern, a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena.
He has warned his players that they cannot afford another subpar performance if they want to contest the final at Wembley Stadium on June 1.
"We need a match with intensity, with pace... Looking at the first leg, defensively we could have done a lot more," Ancelotti said at Tuesday's pre-match press conference.
Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern's 11-year Bundesliga reign by securing the league crown last month, but Ancelotti says that will only boost Bayern's motivation as they chase a seventh European title.
"We are similar clubs because they have a great history and a lot of success," Ancelotti said. "We have to respect our opponents because they did very well and were better than us in the first leg.
"We are very excited because it could be another magical night for us, but there is no optimism. We are aware of the difficulties that we are going to face."
Defender Dani Carvajal, who has already lifted the Champions League trophy five times with Los Blancos, believes the squad are brimming with confidence after going unbeaten through their last 42 games (excluding extra time).
He joked Ancelotti was "getting more and more fearful" each season but praised his coach's role in keeping the players focused on the task at hand.
"There is euphoria because we are having a great year," Carvajal said.
"We are all very excited about the European Cup. We know it in the dressing room. In the street the fans congratulate us and give us a lot of encouragement to dream of winning it again.
"We are two games away from winning the Champions League. Ancelotti has kept our eyes open and we have all added up. That's what counts for us to achieve our objectives."
Man Utd keen to sell Greenwood amid Barcelona interest, claims Getafe president
Manchester United are keen to sell Mason Greenwood in the upcoming transfer window and could field interest from Barcelona, according to Getafe president Angel Torres.
Greenwood joined Getafe on a season-long loan deal in September and has scored eight goals and added six assists in 29 appearances in LaLiga in 2023-24.
Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and was later charged with attempted rape and assault, with all charges against him dropped in February 2023.
United then conducted a six-month internal investigation into his conduct and said they recognised "the difficulties with him recommencing his career" with the club.
In February, speculation that Greenwood could yet return to Old Trafford was heightened when new minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe said a "fresh decision" would be made on his future at the end of the season.
However, Getafe chief Torres claims the Red Devils are now keen to cash in on a player he hopes to keep at the Estadio Coliseum.
"If it depended on the player, his parents and the club, I think he would continue for another year," Torres said of Greenwood in an interview with RadioMARCA on Tuesday.
"Manchester United's idea is to sell if there is a good offer, we will have to wait. I think he will stay."
Reports had suggested both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were considering a move for Greenwood, who is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with United.
Torres claims Barca president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco have been in touch about the 22-year-old, adding: "No one from Atleti has asked me about Greenwood.
"I spoke with [Atleti president] Miguel Angel [Gil Marin], but about other things. The only one who asked me about the player was Joan Laporta.
"I spoke with him and Deco and they asked me what he was like to get a sense of the player, but first they have to sell to buy, this is the problem with Spanish football."
Jamaica, T&T drawn in Group B of League A for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are set to cross swords in the group stages of this year’s fourth edition of the Concacaf Nations League, as both were drawn in Group B of League A for the 2024/25 campaign which is scheduled to kick off in September.
This year’s Concacaf Nations League will again be contested in a three-league format –Leagues A, B and C –and will see the Confederation’s 41 senior men’s national teams doing battle during the FIFA match windows of September, October, and November 2024. The semi-finals and finals of the tournament, which serves as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, are scheduled for March 2025.
The teams have been grouped across the respective Leagues based on their results from the 2023/24 staging. The Reggae Boyz and their Soca Warriors counterparts, who contested the business end of the competition for the first time in that campaign, will be hoping to do so again on this occasion.
They are among 12 teams, split in two groups of six teams each to contest League A in a “Swiss style” league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).
Jamaica, last edition’s semi-finalist, and Trinidad and Tobago, who made the quarterfinals, are drawn alongside Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, and French Guiana, while Group A comprises, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Guyana.
After group stage play in September and October, the first and second-place finishers of each group, will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams, Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada. The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the winner of each fixture, on aggregate, set to secure a berth in next year’s Finals.
Meanwhile, League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. Each team will play every team in its group twice. The groups were drawn as follows:
Group A -El Salvador, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Bonaire
Group B -Curacao, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Martin
Group C -Haiti, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and St Maarten
Group D -Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominic
Matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue instead of the previous home-and-away format, to alleviate travel challenges that Member Associations face.
The third best-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, the second best-ranked teams will host the October matches, and the best-ranked teams will host the decisive November matches.
Over in League C, which consists of nine teams, divided into three groups of three teams, the format takes a similar shape, where each team will play every team in its group twice.
Group A -Barbados, Bahamas, and US Virgin Islands
Group B -Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Anguilla
Group C-Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands
Where centralized venues are concerned, the second highest-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, and the highest-ranked teams will host the October matches.
Schedule:
Group Stage: September 2-10, October 7-15, and November 11-19, 2024
Quarterfinals: November 11-19, 2024
Semifinals: March 20, 2025
Final and Third Place Match: March 23, 2025
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