Celtic lose in Lisbon, new Rangers signings play, first look at Aberdeen - SPFL friendlies
How three Scottish teams fared in their latest pre-season outings
Celtic continued their pre-season preparations with a 3-2 defeat by Estrela da Amadora in Lisbon on Saturday.
Defender Kieran Tierney made his first appearance for the Hoops since his return to the club from Arsenal this summer at Benfica’s training campus in Portugal, whilst Sweden winger Benjamin Nygren also got his first minutes as a Celtic player since signing from Nordsjaelland, playing the second half.
Midfielder Reo Hatate and striker Adam Idah scored the goals for the Scottish champions but looking at the bigger picture, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers told Celtic TV: “It was a really good exercise for us.
“We’re only a couple of weeks in and there were some good moments, some not so good, some young players getting opportunities, some players playing their first minutes of pre-season. It’s another step towards where we want to get to.
“We’ll get sharper. The guys have had a really heavy week, so they were maybe a wee bit leggy today. But it’s that point in the season where you have to push and get through that, that’s all about building your fitness.
“The guys will always look to play our game model, which is to press and to play and we did that. We had some really good moments, the goals were excellent. And then we got caught out, especially in the third goal, just pressing at the wrong moment.
“But all that comes with the evolution and understanding of how we play.”
Rangers draw with Barnsley
Rangers were also in action on Saturday as they drew 1-1 with Barnsley as part of their training camp at St George’s Park.
Brazilian striker Danilo put Rangers ahead in the second half, but the Tykes - who won promotion to the English Championship last season - levelled through Max Watters.
Rangers head coach Russell Martin played a number of new signings, including Max Aarons, Nasser Djiga, Emmanuel Fernandez, Joe Rothwell, Thelo Aasgaard and Lyall Cameron.
Aberdeen began their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 win over Cove Rangers at the Balmoral Stadium.
The Scottish Cup winners of last season took the lead through midfielder Ante Palaversa in the first half and second-half substitute Nicky Devlin completed the scoring later in the match.
Dons boss Jimmy Thelin fielded new signings Max Suman, Kusini Yengi, Nicolas Milanovic, Adil Aouchiche and Kjartan Már Kjartansson against the League One outfit.
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