Brendan Rodgers in eyebrow-raising Hearts 'style' claim as Celtic boss fizzes over Gorgie star's big moment

Brendan Rodgers reckons it was a clash of style between Hearts and Celtic - as a Jambo star’s key moment left him far from pleased.

The Irishman watched on as his Hoops side were swept 3-1 by the Jambos on Sunday. Dane Murray’s own goal, An Alexandros Kyziridis effort and Lawrence Shankland’s penalty sealed a comfortable win for Hearts. It moves the Jambos eight points clear in first place ahead of the midweek fixture round where they travel to St Mirren, and Celtic host newly-promoted Falkirk.

Rodgers has raised eyebrows post-match as he claimed it was a battle of two teams who approach the game in a different fashion, but few chances was the running theme. Kyziridis’ low strike after cutting inside has come as a source of pain for the Celtic boss who has put down a challenge to Hearts for what they can expect in a title battle with the team who have often won it in the last decade.

Brendan Rodgers on Hearts vs Celtic

He said: “A disappointing result and performance overall, really. Two different styles of play, two teams not creating so much. I still felt at half-time we had the chance to go in at 2-1. We didn't quite make that, and then we're disappointed with the two early goals in the second half. We've got to squeeze the line; it’s the principle of our game, and we can catch probably two or three players offside, but we didn't move.

“It becomes a fight, and then we need to show more determination for the shot. We speak beforehand about the young winger (Kyziridis) who comes in; he likes to shoot. We saw his goal against Falkirk, and we did that well in the first half, but second half, we switched off. So when he came in, we had to have more determination to stop that.

“The penalty is something we can avoid, and then all of a sudden, we're chasing the game. But just lacking that bit of quality and creativity in the final third that our Celtic teams normally have, that relentless nature to it. So, in a game where we should take something from, we didn't play well enough and made some basic mistakes to lose the game. I think the context of today is obviously disappointing in the game and the result. But there are 29 games left, and if Hearts aren't at their best today, then of course, if we can find a consistent level of performance, then there's absolutely no doubt we can make up the points difference.

Hearts sent challenge by Brendan Rodgers

“Hearts have made a good start, a really good start in terms of points. Our issues have been well-documented, but we're working very, very hard with limited time to work on the field to find the solutions.

“Sometimes we have to do it in the game, playing players. But we'll continue to work to do that. I think when you make a strong start, which they've done, they've obviously got one game a week, which is a big advantage. And of course, they'll feel that they can keep themselves up there.

“But it's so early. Win, lose or draw the game today, we wouldn't have been getting carried away with anything. There are so many games, and we'll continue to focus on trying to maximise what we can get from the players.