BRENDAN Rodgers has praised referee Craig Thomson for the way he handled a fiery clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox.

The Hoops opened up an eight-point lead over their rivals thanks to second-half goals from Tom Rogic and Leigh Griffiths, but the Northern Irishman reserved a special mention for the official after the match.

"I thought it was a competitive game," he said.

"It was aggressive and you want it aggressive.

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"But I think we need to give a mention to the referee as well because he was excellent."

Rodgers was encouraged by his side's performance ahead of their crucial Champions League clash with Anderlecht next week, pointing to their fitness as a crucial factor.

"I thought defensively we were outstanding in terms of our pressing and denying them the opportunity to play," he said.

"In games here you have to defend well and have good organisation.

"In the second half, our conditioning and quality of our players came through. It was a very, very good performance. There was a great atmosphere here today and our boys coped with it well."