David Turnbull seized his fresh start with a double as Celtic opened the cinch Premiership season with a 4-2 home victory over Ross County.
Brendan Rodgers preferred Turnbull to Reo Hatate in his first competitive match since returning as Celtic manager and the midfielder vindicated his faith with two first-half efforts which sandwiched Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal.
The 24-year-old had not started a league game since November 12 last year and looked an increasingly peripheral figure during Ange Postecoglou’s second season in charge.
Turnbull was named the club’s man of the match and probably should have a had a hat-trick as he revelled in playing in the advanced role in Rodgers’ three-man midfield ahead of Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley.
Rodgers also made a big decision in central defence as Maik Nawrocki made his debut ahead of Carl Starfelt, who came off the bench later on.
Jordan White had netted for the visitors by that stage and O’Riley restored Celtic’s three-goal cushion before James Brown’s deflected effort provided further consolation for the visitors.
The County players and manager Malky Mackay gave the champions a guard of honour as they entered the field before Celtic substitute James Forrest raised the league flag.
The visitors did not stand back when the whistle blew. Mackay’s side got men forward in numbers and had an early chance when both Simon Murray and Josh Sims were unable to turn home from close range.
Murray then turned inside Anthony Ralston before being denied by a Cameron Carter-Vickers block.
Ralston looked rusty early on after missing much of pre-season and his lofted back pass put Joe Hart under pressure. The goalkeeper chested the ball down before being dispossessed by Murray, who stumbled and ran the ball out before appealing in vain for a penalty.
Celtic soon had a spot-kick after Sims caught Greg Taylor as the left-back latched on to a bouncing ball. Turnbull sent Ross Laidlaw the wrong way to open the scoring 17 minutes into the season.
The goalscorer was involved as Celtic doubled their lead in the 26th minute, heading the ball on following Ralston’s clearance to leave County exposed. Celtic punished them clinically as Furuhashi swept home Liel Abada’s pass.
Turnbull was denied by a double save from Laidlaw after being played through by the Japanese striker, but he soon got his second goal in the 42nd minute.
O’Riley played a one-two with Furuhashi and stood the ball up to the back post where the former Motherwell midfielder found the roof of the net.
Celtic dominated the opening stages of the second half and Laidlaw made a double stop from O’Riley and Daizen Maeda.
But County made their eighth corner of the game count on the hour mark when White sent a looping header into the top corner from Yan Dhanda’s inswinging delivery.
Hatate replaced Turnbull and Starfelt came on before O’Riley blasted a right-footed shot high into the net after Furuhashi’s first-time through-ball in the 73rd minute.
Some heavy touches from Furuhashi twice cost him the chance to add to Celtic’s tally before Odin Thiago Holm and Yang Hyun-jun came on for their competitive debuts.
Yang played an impressive part in a sweeping counter-attack which ended with Laidlaw making an excellent stop from Forrest.
County got reward for continuing to commit men forward when James Brown fired home in the fifth minute of stoppage time when his shot went in off Starfelt’s leg.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
Martino resigns as Inter Miami coach after early playoff exit
Gerardo Martino has resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons, the MLS side have confirmed.
The Argentine ends his 17-month stint in charge of the Herons following their MLS Cup exit just under a fortnight ago.
Martino, who oversaw Miami's Leagues Cup triumph soon after his arrival last season, guided the franchise to this year's Supporters' Shield with a regular-season record tally of 74 points.
However, they were eliminated by his former side Atlanta United in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Miami opened their best-of-three series against Atlanta with a 2-1 win, only to lose by the same scoreline in Game 2 before falling to a dramatic 3-2 defeat in the decider.
“It has been an honour to work at such a special club, and to lead such a special team," Martino said.
"I’ve enjoyed my stay at Inter Miami and will treasure the memories made and relationships forged here for the rest of my life.
"I depart with nothing but gratitude for my time here and would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone that made it possible."
Fonseca: Milan have 'respect' but 'are not afraid' of Juventus
Paulo Fonseca said Milan have plenty of "respect" for Juventus, but his side "are not afraid" of their rivals ahead of their Serie A clash on Saturday.
After a slow start to the season, Milan are six points adrift of Juventus in the table, but only a place behind them, as they aim to make up the ground on the top six.
The Rossoneri have played a game less than Thiago Motta's side, and could catapult themselves back into the Scudetto picture with a win this weekend.
Milan return to the San Siro for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Napoli at the end of October, and could register two consecutive home defeats in Serie A for the first time since between October and November in 2023.
"It is not decisive, but it is important, like all of them," Fonseca told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
"I can't say that the game against Juve is more important than the next one against Empoli because we need consecutive victories.
"It's a different game, but I always think positively. We are Milan, we have a lot of respect for the 'Bianconeri', but we are not afraid. We are here ready to win."
A boost for Milan is that Juventus will be without top scorer Dusan Vlahovic for Saturday's clash after returning from international duty with a muscle problem.
Despite the Serbian's absence, Fonseca was aware of the danger his probable replacement, Timothy Weah, would pose, having managed him during his time at Lille.
"Juve knows how to adapt very well. I don't know if Weah will play," Fonseca said.
"Weah is very fast and attacks deep, not like Vlahovic. It will not be the same thing of course.
"We will have to pay attention to movements in depth and less to support work, because he is a player who does less of this job."
While Fonseca has endured a stuttering start to his tenure at the San Siro, Milan have shown they have the ability to match the very best.
They beat rivals Inter in October before stunning Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last Champions League encounter, keeping their play-off hopes alive.
"I believe it's a matter of motivation and not pressure," Fonseca said.
"Against Inter, Juve and Real it is easy to be motivated, it's more difficult to go to Cagliari and have the same motivation.
"Pressure is always with us, every day. If we don't want to have pressure, then we shouldn't be here."
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