New season, new team, same old story for Aberdeen.
The start of another campaign is always accompanied by a fresh sense of optimism and there were hopes among the Aberdeen support their side could, if not challenge for the title this season, at least end their seven game losing run against Celtic.
Yet, there appears little prospect of Derek McInnes’s side drawing with never mind defeating Brendan Rodgers’s team in the coming months on the evidence of this one-sided encounter at Pittodrie last night.
The Scottish champions brushed aside the club which was level on points with them at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership table effortlessly to move within a game of equalling a century-old British record.
The Glasgow club have now gone 61 games undefeated and will match the run achieved by their predecessors between 1915 and 1917 if they can overcome Kilmarnock in a league game at home on Saturday.
They have not enjoyed many easier wins during their astonishing streak of form. A stunning first-half strike by Kieran Tierney and the second Moussa Dembele double in the space of five days sewed up a straightforward triumph.
McInnes’s side had once again started well this term. Indeed, going the first nine league matches undefeated had raised hopes they could match or even beat their best ever opening to a season. They went 12 games without losing after the 1971/72 campaign got underway.
However, if Aberdeen continue to perform like this they will struggle to finish runners-up in the top flight ahead for the fourth year running. It was certainly an off night for them. They can perform far better. Not playing a competitive fixture in 11 days may have hindered them. But the paucity of the all-round showing will have been alarming for their manager.
A near sell-out crowd of 20,528 crammed into the stadium and many more tuned in on television at home hoping to see an epic tussle. It proved to be an utter non-event.
McInnes made one change to the team which had defeated Hibernian away in their previous game. Ryan Christie, on loan from Celtic, was ruled out and Andrew Considine came in.
Christie had been involved in all nine of his side’s league games up until last night and had been one of their most consistent and effective performers. They certainly missed his ingenuity badly. But that can be no excuse for their poor play.
Rodgers, meanwhile, brought in James Forrest, Tom Rogic and Dembele for Scott Sinclair, Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths in the wake of the draining Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich in Germany and Betfred Cup semi-final against Hibs at Hampden. The extensive changes hardly weakened the visitors and underlined their strength in depth.
Kenny McLean has informed McInnes he will be leaving Aberdeen when his contract expires in the summer, before if a decent enough offer comes in for him during the January transfer window, and Rangers, who had a bid for the midfielder rejected in the summer, appears to be his most likely destination.
The last Aberdeen player to move to their loathed rivals – former captain Ryan Jack during the summer – was booed by their fans and fears had been expressed that McLean would be subjected to the same treatment. But he was not subjected to any abuse.
Graeme Shinnie, who succeeded Jack as Aberdeen skipper, started the game brightly and tested Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon with two long-range shots which skidded treacherously across the slick turf.
It was, though, the visitors who took the lead in the 13th minute. A Nir Bitton flick on unleashed Dembele and the striker shrugged off the futile attempts by Kari Arnason to dispossess him effortlessly and impressively before squaring the ball across goal.
Callum McGregor, lurking in the six yard box, failed to connect and it looked as if the home team had survived a scare. But Tierney met the cross at the back post and lashed a powerful left foot shot into the net off the underside of the crossbar from an improbable angle.
It was all Celtic after that. Aberdeen were, quite frankly, woeful. They were unconvincing defensively, outmuscled in midfield and completely ineffective up front.
Gary Mackay-Steven, a summer acquisition from Celtic, had scored the winner and impressed against Hibs. He was expected by many to do some damage against his former club. But he was posted missing last night. He was far from the only one.
Rogic forced two saves from Joe Lewis before his side edged further in front seven minutes before half-time when scorer Tierney turned provider. The left back picked the ball up in his own half, skinned Shay Logan and charged forward. He curled a cross into the Aberdeen area and Dembele got in front of Scott McKenna and jabbed home from close range.
The Frenchman netted his second with his head in the 63rd minute after Dedryck Boyata headed a Stuart Armstrong free-kick across goal. It was his fourth goal in two games and will have done wonders for his confidence after an injury-blighted spell.
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