Following a four year wait, Celtic have reached the final of the Scottish Cup for the first time since they lifted the trophy back in the 2012/13 season. Brendan Rodgers’ side secured their place in the last two by producing an easy 2-0 victory over Old Firm rivals Rangers, with goals from Callum McGregor and Scott Sinclair confirming the victory on Sunday.
With the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup already in the bag, Celtic are now just one game away from completing the fourth domestic treble in their history.
The feat was previously achieved in 1966/67 and 1968/69 under iconic manager Jock Stein, before Martin O’Neill added the third in the 2000/01 season. Rodgers will be the third manager to deliver the treble, should he manage to steer his side past Aberdeen in the final on May 27th.
He will be confident of doing just that, given the club’s sheer superiority this season. They made light work of a Rangers side that had been enjoying an eight game unbeaten run, taking 66% of possession and firing 15 shots at goal, eight of which were on target compared to Rangers’ three, throughout.
While Celtic are enjoying one of their best ever seasons, the treble is still far from confirmed. Aberdeen have been Scotland’s second best side this season and are currently enjoying a fantastic spell of form, having won 16 of their last 19 matches. While they don’t score as often, Aberdeen boast a similar goals conceded total to Celtic and will certainly put up a good fight.
With a nine point lead over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and just five games left to play, Aberdeen’s second place finish is all but confirmed. This means that they will be able to set some time aside to prepare for the Scottish Cup final ahead of the clash.
Celtic, on the other hand, have secured the league title for a sixth consecutive year. Yet, that doesn’t mean that they can turn their attention to the cup competition just yet, as they look to become one of Europe’s elite by going the entire season unbeaten. They have yet to taste defeat in the 2016/17 campaign, but they now face their toughest test, with away games against Rangers and Aberdeen, as well as clashes with top six sides St. Johnstone, Partick Thistle and Hearts, to come.
However, while May is set to be a challenging month for Rodgers’ high-flying club, they have waltzed past everything that has been thrown at them throughout the campaign and, deservedly, they will likely end the season as the winners of the Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.