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Celtic are doing something Pat Nevin has never seen before

Celtic are a special team, explains Pat Nevin.



Pat Nevin joined The Football Show to discuss Celtic's 4-0 victory over Rangers and preview the Real Madrid game.

Ange Postecoglou is sealing cult hero status in Scottish football.

The Celtic manager built a team that is unlike anything that Pat Nevin has seen before. The result was a comprehensive dismantling of Rangers during the first Glasgow derby of the season at the weekend. Nevin expected it to be a close game but he quickly realized the two teams were far apart.

"The gap between [Rangers] and Celtic seemed to have closed," Nevin said.

"It seemed to have closed...until the game started. Celtic were extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary. I tend not to get too carried away with Scottish football and the Scottish Premier League too often, but Celtic are an amazing team to watch. They have been since the day Ange Postecoglou came into the club."

Postecoglou is tactically astute and has imprinted his identity on his team. The squad has been retooled repeatedly with smart signings from less sought-after areas of the footballing world. As a result, he has built a squad with quality in the first eleven and the same quality off the bench.

That was important for Celtic against Rangers because Kyogo Furuhashi went off injured early in the first half.

"It was a joy to be there. And that's with their best player going off injured after two or three minutes. They play a type of football that I can't remember anyone playing it to that level before. This speed of closing down, but not just closing down.

"Every time they get a freekick or a throw in, you take it quickly, that's one of the tactics you do. Not them. It's lightning, it's like two seconds and everyone else in the opposition is looking around and complaining. They've gone. They're away, they've scored.

"It's easy to do that, but to do it with a skill as well. It was brilliant to watch Celtic, they won 4-0, it could have been more.

"Celtic are a bit special."

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Ange Postecoglou Celtic Kyogo Furuhashi Old Firm Rangers