Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final

Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.

The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.

Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.

"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.

"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.

"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."

A sensational SIX for the Celts as we progress to the #PremierSportsCup Final next month! #CELABE | #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/aWfNaLLHBM

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) November 2, 2024

The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.

Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.

Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.

"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.

"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.

"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."

Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.

The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.

After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.

"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.

"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.

"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.

"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."