THEY came to Parkhead yesterday to celebrate and honour not one team but two. The first was the Lisbon Lions, 50 years on from their ground-breaking European Cup victory.
That achievement was marked by an incredibly imaginative and colourful fan display before kick-off that included a giant replica of the famous old trophy itself, while flares and pyros were lit by the Green Brigade in the 67th minute, too – to represent 1967, the year that European Cup was won. Legendary captain Billy McNeill, now frail with dementia, was among those at Parkhead to see it all unfold.
Come the end of the 90 minutes, the 60,000 fans were hailing another all-conquering Celtic side. This has been a fantastic maiden campaign under manager Brendan Rodgers and his players notched up another landmark by beating Hearts 2-0 through goals from Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong to go through the entire 38-match league season undefeated.
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It was the first time that had been achieved in Scottish football’s top tier since 1899 when Rangers went unbeaten over their 18 matches. Celtic’s Invincibles also claimed records for the most wins in a season, the most points, and the most goals scored in the Premiership.
After the game captain Scott Brown was presented with the Premiership trophy, a sixth title in a row for Celtic. The players, including Kris Commons who is set to depart after six years at the club, embarked on a lap of honour, soaking up the applause of a grateful home support, while Efe Ambrose, back from a loan spell at Hibs, turned somersaults in front of the trophy podium.
Griffiths praised Rodgers for making it all happen. He said: “I don't think anybody would've thought we'd have gone the season unbeaten. But it just shows the character and mentality we've got in that dressing room. It's all down to the gaffer - he's instilled that from day one, and we can see why he's managed at the top in England. I didn't think in my wildest teams it would be possible for a team to go unbeaten a whole season, but we just try to keep pushing on."
Rodgers, though, praised the players for their achievement. He said: “The group have worked so hard for all the records they have broken, and they thoroughly deserve it. It's been a great season. You come in and plan to win. However, to perform like we've done is truly remarkable. The club is very much together as one.
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"It's an incredible achievement. I am a Celtic supporter so I know what it feels like. The fans' enjoyment is the most important thing for me and I think they have a good feeling.”
Celtic’s unbeaten league run comprised 34 victories and four draws against Rangers, Ross County, Partick Thistle and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. They will now look to complete the club’s first treble for 16 years by beating Aberdeen in next weekend’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden, something Griffiths described as “the last piece of the puzzle”.
The striker added: “"We've been talking about the treble quietly, but as professionals, it's the old cliché - we need to take it one game at a time. But as the season went on, we just kept getting stronger and stronger, it was a fitting tribute today in front of the home fans.”
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