Brendan Rodgers delighted with dominant display as Celts dismantle Newcastle | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers’ enjoyed watching his side produce an impressive performance to beat Newcastle United 4-0 in their latest pre-season and the first at Celtic Park.

Goals from Arne Engels, Johnny Kenny, Yang and Liam Scales highlighted a dominant display from the Hoops against their English Premier League opponents, and the Celtic manager was pleased with both the performance and result.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Brendan Rodgers said: “It was always going to be a really good exercise against a top team and top players, and I thought the boys were very, very good.

“Naturally we’re after fitness and to develop that, but some of the football and the ideas we’ve been talking about and working on over the pre-season, we can see that and it was very impressive.

“What you have to do is be really good with the ball and be really technically good, and that’s what we were. Technically, we were so good in the game and then found our little patterns and that’s when we got into good spaces.”

Arne Engels won and then converted the penalty which got the scoring underway in the first-half, while Johnny Kenny capitalised on a mistake by Newcastle goalkeeper, Nick Pope, to double the lead before the break.

In the second-half, the Hoops scored two great goals, with Yang finishing off a free-flowing move while Liam Scales headed home from a Kieran Tierney cross.

Speaking of Yang’s goal to make it 3-0, the Celtic manager said: “We saw it against Sporting. In the modern game you get lots of man-to-man play, so have to deal with that and cope with that pressure and handle the ball, and then play through it.

“It was really good play – brilliant by Johnny Kenny, how he received the ball and took it on to the side and then we got away with the two wingers and ended up scoring a very good goal.

“We saw last pre-season and obviously when you’re playing against a team from the English Premier League, you’re playing against one of the top teams, especially Newcastle – the size of the club and how they’ve been building with Eddie who’s done a brilliant job there, so you know you’re going to face a real stern test of all your qualities, and we saw that today.”