Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised Kyogo Furuhashi for his persistence as the Japan striker ended a seven-game goal drought to send the champions on their way to a 2-0 win over Livingston.
Furuhashi got on the end of Luis Palma’s curling effort to net the opener from close range 25 seconds into the second half, before defender Liam Scales headed home the Honduran winger’s corner five minutes later.
It was the 28-year-old striker’s 10th goal of the campaign but only the second in 13 matches for a player who struck 34 times last season.
Rodgers, whose team went five points clear in the cinch Premiership, said: “I think he’s three goals short of where he was last season but for me it’s more important for the team.
“But attacking players, their job is to create and score. You could see relief on his face.
“He read it well and it was nice for him to get the goal because he had other chances which didn’t quite drop but from the team point of view it’s what we needed.
“I think it’s one where there’s probably been frustration when he maybe hasn’t had the ball through or runs behind to allow him to highlight his clever movement. But he’s kept going and persisting. He’s got this shoulder issue but he’s kept working and that’s important.
“Any striker wants to get goals but it’s not just about the striker. A striker can can get 40 goals but it’s no good if other members aren’t contributing.
“It was nice to get goal for him and nice to get one from a set-piece. We had more chance to work on that and we need to be much better in that area but we looked a threat.”
The Green Brigade fans group were back inside Celtic Park after a recent ban and the atmosphere was back to normal as well as the team’s display after they suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time in a decade.
Rodgers said: “It’s been a tough week on the back of two results. Naturally it’s not been what you want but the players were excellent. From the first whistle the tempo was really good.”
Livingston manager David Martindale bemoaned his side’s start to the second half after his side defended brilliantly in the first half.
“The way we started is criminal, terrible,” he said. “The first goal is shocking from our point of view. I’m not saying it’s good movement, it’s basics. Centre-half has got him, Kyogo just walks off him and stick the ball in the net after letting Palma come inside.
“Big Luiyi (de Lucas) has to do better. The movement wasn’t great but I think I could defend it. It was naivety and ability. They’re at Celtic for a reason. Big Luiyi is at Livingston for a reason.”
Martindale lost Tom Parkes to a head injury late in the first half after the defender had produced three-goal saving interventions before getting in the way of a powerful Cameron Carter-Vickers strike.
The Livi manager said: “He was in a bad way when he came off but he’s better now. If Parksey was there that first goal doesn’t happen.”
Ancelotti lauds Real Madrid goalscorer Vinicius after first-leg double
Carlo Ancelotti believes Vinicius Junior is constantly developing his attacking output, after the Real Madrid forward delivered again in the Champions League.
Vinicius scored twice as Madrid drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Those strikes took Vinicius to 31 goal involvements (16 goals, 15 assists) in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, which is more than any other player in the competition in the same time period.
Vinicius' opener came when he cut inside and latched onto an exceptional pass from Toni Kroos, and Ancelotti pointed out how the Brazil international is beginning to change how he attacks.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Ancelotti said: "Vinicius is starting to understand how important it is for him to move inside the pitch and not only close to the line.
"He's learned really well how to move. It was a fantastic pass from Kroos but a fantastic run from Vinicius."
Reflecting on his team's performance, Ancelotti said: "It was an interesting game, an open game of course – as it has to be for a semi-final. I think we could play better, I don’t think we played our best and we had problems in the first half.
"We started to put pressure on in the second half to level the game – it was much better.
"We are comfortable with a low block but we didn’t play with intensity. With a low block you have to have intensity, you have to win duels, second balls. We were too low. We tried to change something.
"The game was difficult at 2-1 down, but then we had the energy and character to equalise – the second part of the second half was really good."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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