Celtic earned a precious 2-1 win against archrivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday (30 December) at Parkhead.
The Bhoys manager Brendan Rodgers was under intense pressure due to some recent poor results that allowed Rangers to close the gap with them. This was a crucial game for the Hoops, and they would have been in genuine trouble had they lost the game.
Goncalves Bernando scored for the Hoops in the first half while Kyogo Furuhashi added another in the second half. James Tavernier pulled one back for the visitors.
Kyogo has made it a habit to find the net against the Gers, and both Chris Sutton and Kenny Miller have been left impressed with the striker.
He has hailed the finish from Kyogo as “sensational”. Chris Sutton was also impressed with the Japan international and hailed it as “stunning”.
“It’s a sensational finish. What a start to the second half for Celtic,” said Miller on Sky Sports (live blog, 13:40).
Sutton added: “Absolutely stunning! What a finish that is with his weaker foot.”
What a response!
Celtic went into this game on the back of two straight wins and they were in some kind of form but this was a massive test for Rodgers and his side.
Rangers started the game brilliantly and they created some gilt-edged chances which they couldn’t take advantage of in the first half. However, the goal from Kyogo changed the complexion of the game completely.
Kyogo has been a scourage for Rangers and he has now scored five goals in his last four league starts against them. It shows that the 28-year-old has the quality to raise his game on big occasions and he has done that time and again.
Matt O’Riley deserves big credit who turned beautifully and picked the pass into Kyogo. There were options for him and many felt that he would pass to his teammate Daizen Maeda, but Kyogo on his weaker left foot curled an absolute peach into the top-right bin leaving Butland with no chance whatsoever of saving that.
