Brendan Rodgers has hailed his Celtic side for securing a huge three points in the opening derby of the season.

The Scottish champions defeated Rangers at Ibrox thanks to a Kyogo Furuhashi strike just before half time, and ultimately it proved to be the difference.

Rodgers was delighted with how his side approached the difficult fixture and with a number of injuries in his squad he is certain his team will continue to improve.

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."

Liam Scales was a standout for Celtic at the back and Rodgers was impressed by the former Aberdeen loanee's display. On the defender, he added: "He was outstanding. Liam's a guy that has spent a lot of time outside the club but what I can rely on is that he's a warrior. He stood up when he had to, won his headers and was brave. That's what you have to be at time.

"I thought he was magnificent today, he's a good guy and wants to play games. I thought he was absolutely brilliant."