Boss Ange Postecoglou paid tribute to ‘clever’ Kyogo Furushashi after the Japanese striker’s double secured the Viaplay Cup for the Hoops against Old Firm rivals Rangers.
Furuhashi broke the deadlock in the final moments of the first half at Hampden and added a second 11 minutes after the interval.
Alfredo Morelos pulled a goal back for Rangers but the Hoops stood firm to retain the trophy. Postecoglou said of his two-goal hero: ‘Sometimes the measure of a footballer at this club is whether you can deliver on the big occasions.
‘He is just an unbelievable young man in terms of his personality.
‘He’s such a clever player and he wants the big moments. He delivered again.’
It was a third trophy success for the Australian since taking charge at Celtic – and he vowed to enjoy it before turning his attention back to the title race and then the Scottish Cup that could now complete a memorable treble.
He said: ‘You start every season hoping it’s a special season. But we’ll enjoy tonight and it’s important we celebrate tonight because the staff and the players, everyone at the football club have worked hard for this.
‘Moments like this, you want to get the whole experience. You watch the players, the fans, what it means to them. I take great pride in it. It’s a day I’ll remember forever.
‘The supporters, too, deserve to celebrate this moment. But, once we’ve done that in the right way, we’ll focus on next week against St Mirren.’
He added: ‘We had to earn it today. We played some fantastic football, but couldn’t put it away and you know Rangers are going to come at you.
‘When we had to defend, I thought we defended well. We could’ve just done with that third goal to kill them off.’
MORE : Rangers fans are increasingly frustrated by lack of trophies over the past decade
MORE : Ange Postecoglou will use ‘pilot-like’ mindset to help Celtic zoom in on glory
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