Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland put an end to Celtic’s 52-game league home run without a loss.
Hearts defeated the Hoops 2-0 on Saturday, ending a 52-game losing streak at Celtic thanks to goals from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland in the first half. Kingsley’s first goal in 20 months ended Celtic’s league home run without a loss, and the advantage at the top of the table shrank to just five points. Shankland scored his 13th goal for Hearts this season.
Rangers have 37 points from two fewer games than Brendan Rodgers’ team, which has 42 points from 18 games. In contrast, Hearts has surged back up to third position and has one game remaining against St Mirren, who they will play this weekend, in fourth place.
When discussing why Celtic suffered a surprise loss after the game, Rodgers gave Hearts some credit: “Give some credit to Hearts.” They scored one goal from a corner kick and another from a free kick. They were obstinate and caused us a great deal of difficulty. We lacked flexibility and were exceedingly passive. It was unsettling how passively the second goal was built up.”
Saturday’s performance was subpar for a team that had just secured its first Champions League victory. Before the former Liverpool manager apologized to the supporters in the press conference following the game, the Hoop supporters jeered their players as they left the field and threw shade at the club’s board. The 50-year-old expressed regret but was also quick to point out that the Celtics’ loss was partially a result of the pressure of playing in midweek.
“I want to apologise to the support base – I don’t think I have ever had to do that with regard to performance but today they deserve it,” Aaron Rodgers stated in an interview with Sky Sports. In the middle of December, there are roughly 60,000 fans present, and the level of enthusiasm and drive was incredibly low. It wasn’t the entire team; Callum McGregoror and one or two other players did a fantastic job of motivating the others.
It’s only a matter of mindset and consistency. We have occasionally played some really excellent football and we won a game in midweek. We didn’t have the mindset from the beginning that you need to have consistently.”
The Northern Irishman responded, “It is mentality and ambition and a drive from within and a spirit that keeps pushing you,” when asked why Celtic seemed to be battling so badly. It comes from within, guys like McGregor, who had to play two or three positions to try and get the team moving in the game. They have this amazing mindset. We must turn that on.
“I believe that following a weekday game is usually difficult. Since I choose the team to play, I accept responsibility for the performance level being much below it.
It’s my fault as a result. However, you need to have that consistency and mindset at this club since winning is expected in every game. It disappoints me that we didn’t perform when we were playing in front of a full house.”
When asked about the club board’s harsh comments, Rodgers responded, “You do your talking on the pitch and today was on myself and the players.” My performance today was much below that of a Celtics player, and I take full responsibility for that. Therefore, I have to figure out the solutions for this group and make sure the team can become more consistent.”
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