Brendan Rodgers praised Celtic for generating an ‘electric’ performance of attacking football in their 3-0 win over Rangers.
Goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and captain Callum McGregor saw the champions extend their lead over Philippe Clement’s side to five points, as they drew level with Aberdeen at the summit of the Premiership.
Rodgers insists his team are only just getting started after scoring three goals, having an early strike disallowed after a VAR review, and handing second-half debuts to £11million record signing Arne Engels and former Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan.
‘It was a fantastic performance,’ said the Celtic boss. ‘I thought we were electric going forward.
‘We’ve scored three and we look at the other chances we had in the game. Equally as pleasing is that we were defensively solid right to the very end. Overall, it was such a great day for us.’
After his team scored two first-half goals for a fourth straight game in the league, Rodgers added: ‘It just continues, the quality, the speed, the intensity at which we’ve been playing.
Furuhashi celebrates after scoring Celtic's second goal in 3-0 Old Firm win
Daizen Maeda had already slotted home the opener for the Parkhead side
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor set the seal on a convincing win with a spectacular third
‘I think we’re only starting. For me, the pleasing aspect was the performance. We want to always make it really difficult for every opponent that we play. And we’ve seen that today, both with and without the ball.’
Rodgers had looked physically drained after a period that saw Celtic complete deadline-busting moves for left-back Alex Valle, record signing Engels, central defender Auston Trusty and boyhood Hoops fan McCowan.
After a series of public calls for more quality, the Northern Irishman proclaimed his satisfaction with the business done in the final days.
Brendan Rodgers was delighted with his team's triumph in front of the home support
Rodgers again got the better of Philippe Clement who is still looking for a first Old Firm win
Celtic's players hail Kyogo for the second goal before the interval
‘Yes, very, very happy,’ he said. ‘It’s very hard to do everything you want to do in one window. But, if you look at the work that has gone into here at the club with the players, not just the players in, but players going out, there’s been so much that we’ve needed to do in order to get the squad to where we want it to be.
‘A manager will always want a little bit more, but I can’t complain.
‘We’ve done some great business over the course of the window, going right back to Kasper (Schmeichel) and all the guys. And obviously this at the end, which was what we wanted to do, was play well and win, and we’ve done that.’
Maeda opened the scoring after 17 minutes before Kyogo overcame the frustration of an early strike being ruled out by VAR to fire home his eighth goal against Rangers before half-time.
New £11million signing Arne Engels was given his first run-out from the bench
Luke McCowan also made his debut as a substitute during the 3-0 win
McGregor's wonder goal summed up a team performance Rodgers said was 'electric'
‘I think you want that from your big players, that confidence and courage that Kyogo has,’ said Rodgers. ‘He’s probably disappointed he never got his hat trick.
‘It would be interesting to see the line on that [disallowed goal], because that was a really well worked goal, how we played through Rangers’ pressure and broke away and scored.’
Rodgers was also pleased to hand a debut to McCowan after the former Dundee captain completed a whirlwind £1m move in the final hours of the window.
‘It’s so nice for him,’ said Rodgers. ‘It was a dream for him to get out there.
‘The Celtic-Rangers games bring a different aspect to your lungs and your legs. He’s gone onto the pitch and he’s worked hard and showed some really nice touches. And again, he’s a player that, over the course of the season, will be important for us. So, really nice for him.’