Celtic 0 Dundee 0 LIVE score and goal updates from the Scottish Premiership clash at Parkhead

Daily Record

16 September 2023

Celtic 0 Dundee 0 LIVE score and goal updates from the Scottish Premiership clash at Parkhead

Celtic have dominated Scottish football this era but even they weren't immune to the boos which followed their tepid 0-0 draw with St Johnstone three weeks ago.

But Brendan Rodgers' side brushed themselves down to win against Rangers at Ibrox and are now keen to get rocking in the wake of the transfer window shutting.

Paulo Bernardo, Luis Palma and Nat Phillips are aiming to become key contributors with the Champions League kicking off against Feyenoord on Tuesday night. But domestic business comes first with the Premiership champions hosting Dundee. Rodgers was keen to stress the importance of consistency and told Celtic punters to expect a different energy to the setback against the Saints.

It's five points so far for Tony Docherty but was left ruing a late St Johnstone comeback which dented a shot of a place inside the top four before the international break.

It should be an intriguing encounter and you won't miss any of the action with us as we bring you LIVE updates from Celtic Park.

Celtic starting XI: Hart, Johnston, Phillips, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, O'Riley, Turnbull, Maeda, Yang, Kyogo

Subs: Bain, Lagerbielke, Palma, Holm, Oh, Bernardo, Hatate, Forrest, Ralston

Dundee starting XI: Carson, Kerr, Beck, Shaughnessy, Bakayoko, Lamie, Robinson, McCowan, Robertson, Howley, Boateng

Subs: Legzdins, McGhee, Tiffoney, Cameron, Ashcroft, Mulligan, Rudden, Sylla, Lewis

Rodgers pre-match musings

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers speaking on BBC Sportsound:

Really exciting period and obviously a big result in our last game and now we have to build on that, really looking forward to the game today.
We've lost experienced centre-halves but Phillips coming in gives us that and leadership quality, he's looking forward to being here and making his debut.
[Reo] Hatate is now back fit but he's only trained afew days but he'll see some action today, really looking forward to working with him over a long period of time as he is a real talent.
The team that starts the game wont be the one that finishes it, for us it's about keep that intesnity and they're key to that.

Celtic's bench 'hugely important'

Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Pat Bonner reckons Celtic's strength in depth will be key:

The bench is hugely important, and if you look at that bench for Celtic with Hatate, Forrest, Oh, Bernardo, Palma, two of them are yet to feature but they're all recognised quality players.

Could we see debuts for these two off of the bench today?

Supporters' buses begin rocking up

After days of speculation the kibosh was put on some admittedly daft - to put it politely - plans to radically overhaul the rules for buses in Scottish football, sorry 'Scottish sporting events.'

Thankfully they were soon withdrawn after they were given an emphatic NO from all fans.

Buses are arriving this afternoon and there's not a substantial meal in sight.

Two Dundee changes

Two changes for Tony Docherty to the side that drew 2-2 with St Johnstone last time out.

Cammy Kerr and Ryan Howley are handed starts this afternoon as Scott Tiffoney and Jordan McGhee are on the bench this afternoon.

Dundee starting XI

Dundee: Carson, Kerr, Beck, Shaughnessy, Bakayoko, Lamie, Robinson, McCowan, Robertson, Howley, Boateng

Substitutes: Legzdins, McGhee, Tiffoney, Cameron, Ashcroft, Mulligan, Rudden, Sylla, Lewis

Visitors team news to come

Dundee team lines will be with you as soon as we have it...

Two changes for the hosts

Celtic make two changes to the side that started the match at Ibrox in their last domestic fixture.

Liel Abada is ruled out due to injury and Gustaf Lagerbielke drops to the bench for Brendan Rodgers' side as Nat Phillips comes in for his Celtic debut with Hyun-Jun Yang in from the start too.

Celtic starting XI

Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Phillips, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, O'Riley, Turnbull, Maeda, Yang, Kyogo

Substitutes: Bain, Lagerbielke, Palma, Holm, Oh, Bernardo, Hatate, Forrest, Ralston

The stage is set

Champions League comes loaded with Celtic dread but Brendan Rodgers' stars ARE ready to dish out bloody noses - Chris Sutton

The talk in the summer was about Celtic having a decent crack at the Champions League.

Now it has arrived, the feeling among fans is of trepidation – or maybe even dread. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Listen, I understand why Celtic supporters are wary going into the group stages. They’ve been burned by experiences in the past at this level and we all know about the huge gulf in finances when it comes to the best in Europe.

It’s clear expectations are not very high right now – but this is not an environment you can limp in to and hope for the best. Celtic should be positive. They have to be. I don’t like harping back to my day, but when I was at the club I loved the Champions League. Sure, it was a tough and unforgiving environment. It was also a huge opportunity. It was a chance to test ourselves against the best – and give them the odd bloody nose. That’s how the current side should approach it this time.

Dundee last time out

Dundee fans probably thought they were set for another three points last time out considering they were up 2-0 with less than 10 minutes of normal time to go.

However, St Johnstone scored two late goals, in the 82nd and then 96th minute, to draw level at McDiarmid Park.

They've got their work cut out this afternoon to add to their points haul of five so far but they are sitting in sixth place, above the likes of Aberdeen and both Edinburgh sides.

A solid start for a newly promoted side and a first-time manager in Tony Docherty.

Celtic's recent top-flight outing

Most fans will need no reminding but Celtic's last top-flight outing was a 1-0 win over Rangers.

A game with its fair share of controversy was settled by Kyogo's late first-half strike at Ibrox.

There's been a bit of stick surrounding the club so far this season, perhaps more so in terms of transfer inactivity for some fans, but with only two points dropped so far in the league, their title defence is gathering momentum.

They have another important fixture in just over 72 hours but we'll get to that soon...

The man in the middle

Grant Irvine is today's referee with Steven Kirkland as the VAR.

Gary Hilland is the AVAR today but hopefully, there's not too much in the way of controversy.

It's Irvine's first ever Celtic game at Parkhead this afternoon.

Today's forecast

There's a 0-10% chance of rain over Glasgow this afternoon and a relatively settled day is expected outside of that.

It seems as though the conditions won't wreak havoc for either side today.

Famous last words in Scotland to be fair, though.

Celtic's starting XI questions

Brendan Rodgers hasn't had the best of luck of late with Celtic injuries and the blow of losing Liel Abada has compounded the Irishman's woes.

But the post-Rangers derby afterglow will only mean something if the champion see off Dundee in the Parkhead coach's words, with some key stars beginning to make their recovery after the makeshift XI at Ibrox got the job done. Reo Hatate has offered Rodgers a massive boost with his return and minutes will be on the mind against Tony Docherty's men, with defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is a little way away from re-joining the champions' squad.

Dundee have a full complement available

Dundee have a clean bill of health with Antonio Portales and Aaron Donnelly back from injury.

Tony Docherty will therefore have his full squad to choose from for this clash.

Early team news for Celtic

No official lineups for an hour or so but there's a chance Celtic's Reo Hatate could be back in from the start this afternoon and new signing Phillips may join him.

Celtic have midfielder Hatate back following a calf complaint while Nat Phillips could make his debut.

Liel Abada (thigh) has joined Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki (both hamstring), and Stephen Welsh (ankle) on the sidelines. Yuki Kobayashi, Mikey Johnston and Marco Tilio are back in training but may have to wait to feature.

Zach ready to attack

Zach Robinson knows he’ll make headline news by bagging a Dundee winner against champions Celtic.

And the confident Londoner insists he’s ready to be the Dark Blues’ back-page hero in the trip to Parkhead today.

But Robinson also knows that Dee’s success this season will depend on what they do over the course of the campaign and not just in the big games.

If you score at Celtic Park then everyone will be like ‘wow’ but you don’t make a career off one game. You can’t look too much into this one. Of course, you want to play well and you want to help the team get a result but it’s about how you perform over the whole season that really matters and says a lot about you.

Reo ready to rock

Brendan Rodgers insists Reo Hatate is ready to roar back to his best after shaking off the head-spinning transfer speculation of the summer.

The Japanese ace is set to return from injury against Dundee with a view to Tuesday’s Champions League opener with Feyenoord in Holland. Rodgers admitted Hatate’s form suffered in the early part of the season after being tipped to join up with former boss Ange Postecoglou at Spurs amid strong interest from fellow Premier League side Brighton.

Celtic managed to hold on to their top asset – but he got crocked after coming off the bench at Aberdeen last month. Hatate is back in business and his boss believes his sights are back on starring for Celts

He’ll play before Tuesday. Whether he starts or not depends. It was a challenging summer for him. Having seen him close up I know it was difficult. He’s over that now. It’s just a shame he got injured when he did, but his response to get back has been fantastic. I’ve had a good couple of chats with him. He knows the demands and where we are at – he’s a top class player. It’s about managing him back into it. It will settle down. The window is difficult for player but things settle down once it’s closed.

Lennon on Celtic reality

Neil Lennon insists Celtic WILL break through their Champions League ceiling as Brendan Rodgers stands next in line to take on that mission.

The Hoops begin their Group E campaign next Tuesday away at Dutch champions Feyenoord and their former boss knows the pot four side are in for a tough section alongside Lazio and Atletico Madrid too. No Scottish side has managed to reach the Champions League last 16 since Lennon's first stint in charge, when he guided the current Premiership champions out of a group involving Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow before elimination to Juventus back in terms 2012/13.

European regrets still linger for the former midfielder from his second stint in charge - namely the Europa League round of 32 exit to FC Copenhagen - but he insists that there's an additional challenge for Celtic that others across the continent don't have. The constant need for victory in Glasgow is what Lennon thinks contributes to European slips, with others able to take their foot off the domestic pedal.

There isn’t a glass ceiling for Celtic when it comes to Europe. I remember saying the same thing in my time as manager when we lost to Juventus in the knockout round. The club will burst past that at some point and I admit I had some disappointments when I was in charge. We really should have gone through against FC Copenhagen in 2020, for example.
Part of the problem is Celtic are always going flat out in the Premiership and the domestic cups. Teams like Sevilla know they won’t win La Liga, so they rest key players in the league and prioritise the Euro competitions. That’s why they’ve been able to win the UEFA Cup and Europa League seven times. Real Madrid have been European champions a record 14 times, but they’ve only won the Spanish title four times in the last 15 years because it’s not as important to them. A lot of clubs will sacrifice their league positions for European runs, but Celtic can’t afford to do that.