CALLUM McGREGOR led by example yet again as the Celtic captain guided his players through the derby minefield to a well-deserved 3-0 triumph over Philippe Clement’s stunned Ibrox side.
The all-action Hoops onfield leader capped a wonderful display with a breathtaking left-foot drive that whizzed past the helpless Jack Butland for the champions’ final goal at a pulsating Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were on their way to victory after an interval advantage courtesy of two strikes from Japanese double-act Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi.
The prolific hitman was also denied what looked like a perfectly legitimate opening goal in the 11th minute following a wafer-thin VAR offside judgement against Nicolas Kuhn in the build-up.
DERBY DAY DELIGHT…Callum McGregor applauds the Celtic fans after the 3-0 triumph.
As the applause from the joyous fans ricocheted around the stadium in the afterglow of a job well done, McGregor took time out to praise new Bhoys Arne Engels, the club’s record £11million deadline-day recruit, and Luke McCowan, a £1million arrival from Dundee at the same time.
The inspirational Hoops anchorman had a quick word with the ex-Dens Park midfielder as he came on moments after his memorable strike and said: “He’s got massive quality.
“When you come into a game like that, it’s always good to have your mates around you and just look after them and the new guys, just settle them in.
“I just said to him: ‘Go and play, you’ve got massive quality, just go and run about, I’ll be with you, so let’s just go’.
“He was fantastic when he came on. To be thrown into a game like that, big expectation, big pressure, he was excellent.
