Brendan Rodgers in instant Celtic quip to Liam Scales mix-up as boss offers his side of VAR reprieve

Brendan Rodgers reckons Liam Scales proved his Celtic worth and that the defender played like a 'warrior'.

The Irishman guided his side to securing the bragging rights on derby day as Kyogo's thunder strike stung rivals Rangers seconds before the end of the first half. It's not the goal fests the Celtic boss enjoyed in his first spell when playing in Glasgow's south side but the champions go four points clear of the Light Blues who sit fourth in the Scottish Premiership. A testing, but ultimately victorious affair against Michael Beale's men sees Rodgers put aside the wides of a Viaplay Cup exit and a drab draw with St Johnstone last weekend.

Rodgers revealed he told his players to go and play 'like a man' in front of no away fans and a rampant Ibrox crowd. He reckons the game, however, could have been dead and buried much sooner. He told Sky Sports: "A brilliant win for us, I said to the players before the game you have to come here and play like a man. Even though we have a very young group, you come here with 50,000 against you and you have to show courage.

"Our first half football was excellent, broke down a little bit in the final third and with a fraction more quality and finesse in the last pass we would finish it off.

"Second half you expect them to come out, being at home and under pressure to get a result. We showed resilience, we had three big moments but couldn't finish the game off. It becomes tighter because we didn't take those chances. I'm so happy for the players, it's the first big result they've had together and we have half a team virtually not available. For the new guys to feel what a win like that is like, it's a great day for us.

"I thought Gus [Lagerbielke] was slow on it. We needed to make a