Benjamin Nygren delivers a Celtic masterclass as Aberdeen swept aside to continue perfect start – 5 talking points

Celtic cruised to victory to make it two wins from two to start their Premiership title defence

The Red Shed’s pre-match Scottish Cup banner said There’s a Light that Never Goes out.

But it was another Smiths lyric that came to mind after the Dons failed to recreate their Hampden heroics against Celtic.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now…

Hoops fans haven’t exactly been a happy lot of late with growing frustration over summer signings.

But a couple of moments of quality in the Granite City a day after Rangers’ latest stumble put smiles on faces again.

Benjamin Nygren slotted a smart opener inside half an hour to undo a decent Dons start and then Reo Hatate slammed a second half stunner in off the underside of the bar to make it two wins out of two for the champions.

It was a frustrating day for Jimmy Thelin and his side. Aberdeen unsettled Celts with a high-paced start.

But they lacked a real cutting edge in the final third and eventually Brendan Rodgers’ men got to grips and provided a lesson in lethal finishing.

But the Dons' cup shine is starting to wear off.

Here are our five talking points from Pittodrie...

Will to win

It wasn’t a vintage performance from Celtic by any stretch but if there’s one thing this Hoops side knows what to do is win.

Aberdeen shook them out of their comfort zone early on but they refused to panic and kept their patience. Make no mistake, this was a massive victory and it piles even more pressure on their old pals across the city.

Celtic dug in and waited for the chance to pounce and once they did there only looked like one winner.

There’s been a lot made of what Celts don’t have right now – and it's true, there are areas of the squad that need bolstered.

They also still have quality all over the pitch but there isn’t quite the fluency yet that was witnessed in the first half of last season.

Rodgers wants new faces but the countdown is on to the Champions League play-off first leg just over a week away.

Celtic are getting the job done right now but the manager will want to see more of a spark in the coming weeks as they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders to be sure of getting back to the big time.

KT back in the groove

The Celtic hero loves playing at Pittodrie. He scored twice here in his first spell and was bang on it again here, with a brilliant assist for the opener.

Tierney is still building his fitness but he’s already looking top notch. There is more to come though – especially with his relationship with Daizen Maeda.

The pair are linking up well but there are times when they both occupy the same spaces up the touchline.

Tierney would move inside at times to allow Maeda to remain wide and on other occasions they’d switch it, and it gave Aberdeen problems.

The player of the year was a bit quieter than usual but the more these two play together, the stronger the understanding will become.

Will Arne be back?

Nygren got the nod ahead of £11m man Arne Engels for the second game on the spin – and showed what he can bring to the Celtic side.

Rodgers has not hid his desperate need for more goal threat in his squad and that’s what Nygren brings, perhaps more than Engels.

The Belgian has plenty of his own attributes but the new man does play in a more advanced role and is constantly looking to burst into the box - like he did for his goal.

He teed up the second as well and after a low key display against St Mirren, this was much more like it and it now seems he’s cemented his place as the main man for that midfield role.

Engels will still have a huge part to play over a long season, but you don’t spend record money for a guy to sit on the bench.

The shop is ticking

Rodgers may be fed up talking about signings but it’s difficult to ignore the giant elephant in the room.

Celtic are days away from having to register their squad for the Champions League play-off clash against Slovan Bratislava or Kairat – although they can add a couple up to 24 hours before kick-off – yet they are obviously lacking in several key areas.

And the late rush has again highlighted some of the issues the club has when it comes to bringing in players.

It’s not even about quantity. Celtic have brought in 27 players since Rodgers returned to the club in 2023 but, after five transfer windows, only four of those recruits started at Pittodrie.

Parkhead chiefs can – rightly – point to the cash in the bank and the success of sales.

But there have been too many misses in the market in recent times and they have to get it right this time or it will eventually catch up with them.

Dons need to get creative

Thelin must have been tempted to roll out his Hampden formation again after his back five frustrated the life out of Celts in the Final.

So the Dons boss reverting back to his preferred line up might have been a bit of a curveball for the Hoops.

It was safety first back in May but this time Thelin was much more offensive. His side pressed Celtic all over the pitch, there was an intensity and a desire to cause damage down the flanks.

The plan worked a treat – until the opening goal seemed to pull the rug out from under them.

Aberdeen lost belief – and they simply couldn’t find a cutting edge in the final third.

Striker Kusini Yengi had another day to forget and he even managed to block an effort from his own teammate before being hooked.

The Dons kept plugging away and once again Nicolas Milanovic and Adil Aouchiche showed promising signs, but there is a real need for creativity or it’ll be a slog this season.