Celtic hit form with a 7-1 victory over Dundee following a first-half goal spree at Parkhead.
Cameron Carter-Vickers started the rout in the seventh minute and goals from Adam Idah, Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda had Celtic four up before the half-hour mark.
Greg Taylor and Callum McGregor made it six before the break and Daniel Kelly marked his league debut with a brilliantly-taken goal.
Dundee were down to 10 men through Finlay Robertson’s red card when they pulled a goal back from Michael Mellon, although the atmosphere had already lost a bit of an edge following Rangers’ comeback at Kilmarnock.
The Light Blues’ 2-1 victory keeps them two points ahead of Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership.
However, Celtic have moved back to one behind on goal difference and secured a morale boost with their biggest win of the season after struggling to find their groove since the winter break. They had drawn twice in their previous four league matches and needed stoppage-time winners in the other two.
Manager Brendan Rodgers had called for positivity from the stands on the eve of the game after referencing the dissent that greeted one of his substitutions during the champions’ late win at Motherwell on Sunday.
His players ensured there was no opportunity for any negativity to emerge, although Dundee twice came close in the first two minutes through Curtis Main and Owen Beck.
Beck had kept Maeda quiet at Dens Park on Boxing Day but Yang Hyun-jun got an early edge when he got past him and drew a foul which earned the on-loan Liverpool left-back a booking.
There was further punishment from O’Riley’s free-kick as Carter-Vickers rose above Amadou Bakoyoko to head home his first goal of an injury-disrupted season.
Beck was fortunate not to receive another booking from referee Matthew MacDermid for a reckless tackle on Yang and Celtic continued to put the visitors under pressure as O’Riley was twice denied.
The home support were given another boost when news emerged of Kilmarnock’s opener and Idah had them celebrating in the 18th minute with a brilliant header from Alistair Johnston’s cross to net his fifth goal since joining four weeks ago.
O’Riley ran on to Taylor’s perfect cross to head home four minutes later and the midfielder turned provider as his pass found Maeda’s run across the box. The Japan international had plenty to do but a brilliant touch fooled Joe Shaughnessy and he curled into the far corner.
O’Riley sent a brilliant volley off the bar from 22 yards and Taylor’s run into the box was rewarded when Johnston’s cross ultimately fell for him as the left-back stroked home from eight yards in the 36th minute.
Main had a goal disallowed for offside following a VAR check before McGregor drilled home in stoppage time after an exchange of passes with Taylor with Yang once again involved.
Celtic went off at half-time amid noise akin to a Champions League night but the atmosphere dampened down as news of two quickfire goals from Rangers filtered through early in the second half.
Dundee manager Tony Docherty had made three half-time changes and his side looked more compact but half-time substitute Kelly showed composure beyond his 18 years to curl into the top corner after Yang’s low cross came to him on the edge of the box.
The Celtic Park DJ dug out the Magnificent Seven theme tune that used to follow Henrik Larsson’s many Parkhead goals and more fanfares looked on the cards.
Luis Palma curled off the Dundee bar and Robertson received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Johnston in the 76th minute.
However, it was Dundee who added to the scoring eight minutes later when Mellon volleyed home a cross from fellow substitute Aaron Donnelly.
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
