Celtic thrashed Newcastle United in a keenly contested preseason friendly at [[Celtic]] Park, with the Scottish champions putting four past Eddie Howe’s hapless Magpies.
An Arne Engels penalty got the ball rolling before an almighty howler from Newcastle keeper Nick Pope allowed Johnny Kenny to latch onto a long punt from Kasper Schmeichel and tap home a second before the break.
A raft of changes on both sides failed to change the flow of the game, and Yang Hyunjun rolled home a third after great work from Daizen Maeda, before Liam Scales put the icing on the cake as he headed home from a Kieran Tierney cross.
Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…
Celtic put on a show in feisty friendly
The presence of around 10,000 Geordies in the away end gave this a feel of a more meaningful affair than it ultimately was, but it was Celtic who put on a show for their fans with a clinical display against the English Premier League giants.
After putting Sporting to the sword during the week, this was another fillip for the Celts and their supporters, with Brendan Rodgers’ side clicking into gear and making the expensively assembled Newcastle outfit look distinctly average at times.
Yes, Howe’s men are a little behind Celtic in their preseason preparations, and it was only a friendly, but it’s always good to see a Scottish team putting one over our cousins to the south, and there was plenty here for the Celtic fans to be encouraged about.
Maeda must be kept at all costs
There has been a bit of noise around the Japanese winger this week, with EPL outfits Everton and Brentford credited with an interest in taking him south. And seeing what he was able to do here against one of their rivals, it is little wonder.
His famously relentless work rate has never been in question, and he had Kieran Trippier and half-time substitute Emil Krafth run ragged, but it was the composure he added to his game last season that took him to another level.
He showed that again here when Celtic scored their third, as he raced clear and then got his head up to put the ball on a plate for Yang to tap home.
So key to this team has he become that Celtic will want to keep Maeda at all costs, but it is easy to see why clubs with even deeper pockets are beginning to circle.
Auston Trusty looking strong as he bids to win over doubters
It’s fair to say that the big American has yet to fully convince the Celtic support that he is good enough to be a mainstay of their defence alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers, with a smattering of impressive displays like his showing in the goalless draw with Atalanta last term overshadowed somewhat by a tendency to drop his concentration in lower key matches.
He has been accused too of being a little soft at times, exemplified in a game at Dens Park last term where he drew heavy criticism, but he was right on his game here, putting in a man of the match performance and looking strong up against the physical presence of big Newcastle striker William Osula.
The challenge now for the defender is to maintain this level of performance when it all kicks off for real, and maybe then he will be able to dispel any lingering doubts about his place at the heart of the backline.
Tierney’s triumphant return
The loudest cheer of the day didn’t accompany any of Celtic’s goals, but was reserved for the return of prodigal son Tierney, who was brought on as a substitute by manager Rodgers before he made a further 10 changes so that he could enjoy the acclaim of his fellow Celtic supporters.
Tierney spoke on Friday of how emotional his return to Celtic Park after six years away would be, and no doubt it would have been a special moment for the left back as he stepped back onto the pitch. But he also put on record how important it was for him to return home when he was still at the peak of his powers, and the 28-year-old certainly looked sharp, putting in a great cross for Scales to head home the final goal of the day.
There was but a fleeting glimpse of the link up with Maeda down Celtic’s left-hand side before the winger was taken off, but when those two are both fully fit and firing, it is a tantalising prospect.
More signings to come?
Perhaps in a bid to remind the supporters that business had in fact been done in this window, Celtic paraded new arrival Shin Yamada on the pitch before the game, with his hearty and remarkably Scottish-sounding ‘Mon the Hoops’ winning over his new supporters before he has even kicked a ball.
On the team sheet though there was only one new arrival, with Yamada’s compatriot Hayato Inamura starting at left back.
Ten changes on the hour brought Benjamin Nygren onto the pitch too, but even though Rodgers could put on two entirely different XIs and Celtic still looked strong against such a high level opponent, both he and the supporters will still be hoping for a few new faces in the coming weeks.
