Celtic now have costly imperfection as gallant Aberdeen prey on void - and Rangers should be concerned
In one of the games of the season, Dons make their point impressively
Where do you start with a game like this? More storylines than Games of Thrones, more drama than Fast and Furious. Celtic 2-2 Aberdeen will go down in the annals as a 2024/25 season classic.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Rod Stewart were among those fortunate enough to witness such an engrossing spectacle. It was a pity no TV cameras were able to capture events live, although the drama was heightened by being a traditional 3pm start. This was the best game many in attendance have seen in the flesh for a long time.
Let's commence at the very end. We were into the 13th minute of stoppage time. Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov had just made a stunning save from an Adam Idah header. The ball was forced back towards goal by Alistair Johnston and Duk cleared off the line. A whole stadium called for a handball. We had a VAR check. Time stood still. Then referee Nick Walsh blew for full-time. The Dons survived, storming the Parkhead fortress with a second-half comeback so rarely seen from a Scottish team at this arena.
Celtic had been 2-0 up the interval. Coasting would be a fair assessment of where they were. Reo Hatate put them ahead with a lovely first-time strike on 24 minutes and Kyogo Furuhashi added a second not long after. They could have netted more, although Leighton Clarkson missed a sitter at the other end. This one looked done, but Aberdeen and their increasingly impressive manager Jimmy Thelin had other ideas. The Swede made two attacking changes at the break and by 60 minutes they were level, one of those replacements in Ester Sokler and then captain Graeme Shinnie scoring. The whole mood of Celtic Park flipped upside down.
Twenty minutes to go, the excellent Jamie McGrath sent over a free-kick. Slobodan Rubezic rose and his header towards goal brushed off Duk and went in. For a split-second, Aberdeen were ahead, they were top of the league. Alas, the Cape Verdean was rightly penalised by VAR for handball. Celtic then spent the remainder of this match hammering away at the visitors, stirred from their momentary but costly torpor. By the end, the shot count sat at 27. But it's a draw. Both teams' perfect record has gone in the league, yet they remain unbeaten.
Thelin headed into the night far happier than his Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers, who was clearly angered by his players' drop in levels at the start of the second half. They recovered sufficiently to dominate the final stages and probably deserved to win on balance of play, but this Aberdeen team is obdurate. They dug in superbly at the end, red-shirted bodies flung at all manner of efforts.
Thelin told his players to stay calm at the break, despite being 2-0 down. They did not change their approach fot this game, keeping with a high press and a desire to attack with pace and power. But Celtic are stronger than anything Thelin's team had faced before. Momentary lapses get punished. Mitov dithered for Hatate's opener and defender Gavin Molloy miscontrolled to allow Furuhashi to net. The character of that duo can be summed up by how well they performed in the second period. It was like the Swede had undone early Hallowe'en spells cast upon them.
Celtic did help them along the way. They are a diminished force defensively without Cameron Carter-Vickers, who is a big doubt for Wednesday's Champions League clash at Atalanta. His replacement, fellow American Auston Trusty, does not live up to his name. Not yet, anyway. He is still settling into life at Celtic.
Captain Callum McGregor did not exert his usual influence in the second period, while Hatate and Arne Engels faded quickly after a good first 45 minutes. Rodgers - validly - made the point that many of his team were scattered around the world earlier in the week on international duty, yet this was a bad day at the office.
Celtic, to be fair, don't have many domestically. The fear will come for what happens next week against last season's Europa League winners. Atalanta are a very handy side. The level will need to be raised significantly.
The final word belongs to Aberdeen. What courage, discipline and belief to peg Celtic back. Thelin has already worked some wonders at Pittodrie. Dundee United visit the north-east next weekend, where even a draw would put them top for a day at least, as Celtic are at Motherwell on the Sunday.
Top spot will almost certainly be beyond Aberdeen, despite what happened here. But perhaps the most concerned bystanders will be Rangers. Inactive and facing a tricky trip to Kilmarnock on Sunday, their rebuild comes under further pressure the deeper this Dons run goes into the season. They go to Aberdeen on October 30, and given the way Thelin has them motoring, it is a clash of huge significance. As was proven at Celtic Park, the Dons do not fear anyone right now.
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