Brendan Rodgers challenged Celtic to keep increasing the gap at the top of the William Hill Premiership after they opened up a three-point advantage over nearest challengers Aberdeen for the first time this season with a 4-1 win away to Hearts.
The Hoops have been closely tracked by the Dons this term but the Pittodrie side’s first league defeat of the campaign at St Mirren earlier in the day paved the way for the champions to assert their authority at the summit on Saturday night.
Following a goalless first half in which Hearts had the better of the chances, the Hoops pulled away with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and a double from substitute Adam Idah either side of a consolation from home sub Musa Drammeh.
Asked if the Dons’ defeat in Paisley and Rangers’ 1-1 draw at home to Dundee United had given his side a pre-match boost, manager Rodgers said: “Not really, no. I think you can only look after yourself.
“I think we had a game here last year where our rivals lost and we came here and lost, so it was irrespective.
“For us, we just focus on ourselves and make sure we get the win and the performance.
“I think if some of your nearest rivals drop points then you want to be able to take advantage of that even though it’s very early on. But it’s still always about your own self, having to perform.
“It’s a little gap now but as I said, we’ve just got to focus on ourselves and just keep increasing it.”
Rodgers felt his side, who had several players returning from international duty, looked “leggy” in the first half but was pleased at how they took control after the break.
“When you come into Tynecastle and win 4-1, it’s always a great win on the back of an international break,” he said.
🙆♂️💔 @Kyogo_Furuhashi scored his 80th Celtic goal tonight – 11 of which have been against Hearts! #HEACEL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/6z4N654Als
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) November 23, 2024
“First half, I thought Hearts did well. They surprised us a little bit with the pressing structure. We had some good movements in the first half but our positioning wasn’t quite right, which meant we got caught on the ball a little bit more often than I would have liked.
“Once we went through that at half-time and figured it out and got our positioning better, then we were able to play through that press really well and score some fantastic goals.”
Hearts boss Neil Critchley felt a 4-1 defeat was “very harsh”.
“I think if you look at the scoreline, it looks like a real beating,” he said. “It was anything but, in my opinion.
“I thought we were an excellent first half. I thought we were the better team. But when you’re on top, you need to score.
“I thought our structure was good. I thought we pressed well and we went toe-to-toe with a very good team.”
