Glasgow Celtic were left stunned in the beginning of October on their road trip to Livingston, where the home team left the visitors goalless, handing them their first loss of the Scottish Premiership season. That night the final score was 2-0 for Livingston. The teams faced off for the second time on Saturday, this time in Glasgow, and the league leading Celtic got their retribution with a clear and deserved 4-0 home win.
Returning to the fold after the international break can be tough on the top club, with majority of key players involved in the gruesome international fixtures and the rest having their normal schedules interrupted. While Celtic had a plethora of their starters playing for their countries during the domestic break, the particular individuals returned in action with more vigor than ever.
Seemingly pumped up from their defeat almost two months ago, Celtic was out to make the record straight. They started with pure dominance and pushed Livingston into the defensive trenches from the beginning. It came as no surprise the go ahead goal was scored already on the 19th minute by Odsonne Edouard, who received an inch-perfect pass from Tom Rogic and lobbed the ball past the surging Livingston keeper Matija Sarkic. Edouard had scored twice for France U21 during the break and has now done it nine times for Celtic. While the first half only saw one goal, Celtic were on top for the most of it. They controlled the ball for 73% of the half and shot six times on goal, reducing Livingston to only one, not-so-threatening shot on goal.
In the second half Celtic went for the jugular and were determined to finish off Livingston before they could make an attempt at any recovery. Two goals scored within seven minutes buried Livingston’s hopes for good. First Scott Brown scored with a lucky bounce from Livingston defender on the 57th minute and seven minutes later James Forrest followed through on a sky-high rebound initially saved by Sarkic and made it 0-3 by a short-range volley. Forrest then nailed the coffin shut on 91st minute with a clinical finish from Ryan Christie’s delivery.
With the convincing win the Celtic strengthen their position on top of the Scottish Premiership and added the pressure on Rangers playing their game in hand on Sunday. Next up for Celtic is the Europa League fixture against Rennes on Thursday and then a visit to Ross County on 1st of December. Don’t miss out on Dafabet’s weekly Celtic FC Prediction Challenge in order to win free weekly bets!
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Celtic vs Rennes (1×2): 1.54 – 4.00 – 4.95
Ross County vs Celtic (1×2): 15.00 – 7.20 – 1.14
