Rodgers proud of Celtic for 'playing like men' after Old Firm win

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed a youthful side for «playing like men» following a 1-0 win away to arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Kyogo Furuhashi's goal — the Japan star's sixth in five starts in Glasgow's Old Firm derby — in first-half stoppage time proved the difference at Ibrox.

Celtic, who had rejected the offer of 700 tickets for away fan on safety grounds, were forced on the defensive late in the game to preserve their lead.

«It's a massive result for the squad when you consider virtually half the team is unavailable,» Rodgers told the BBC.

«I said to them before the game that I need my men today. You need to come here, with 50,000 baying for blood, you need to come and play like a man, even though you're really young players.»

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Rodgers, in his second spell as Celtic manager, added: «Second half, we had to show resilience and fight. To come here, keep a clean sheet, and win with not one supporter in the stadium is a brilliant win.»

Rangers almost went ahead in the first minute but Rabbi Matondo's effort was ruled out for offside.

More controversial was the decision to disallow a goal by Rangers' Kemar Roofe following Cyriel Dessers's foul on Gustaf Lagerbielke.

Rangers, fresh from their midweek 5-1 hammering by PSV Eindhoven in Champions League qualifying, desperately needed a win in front of their own fans at Ibrox.

Instead, they find themselves already four points behind leaders and reigning champions Celtic ahead of the international break, with boos ringing round the ground at the final whistle.

By contrast, victory eased some