Tom English believes Aberdeen posed a significantly greater challenge to Celtic compared to their city rivals Rangers just a few weeks ago. According to English, Aberdeen’s performance tested Celtic in ways that Rangers failed to, showcasing the Dons’ ability to step up against the reigning champions.

Celtic ruthlessly dismantled Rangers with a commanding 3-0 victory at the start of last month, asserting their dominance over their city rivals at Ibrox. The Hoops were in full control, leaving little doubt about their superiority in the derby.

Goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, and captain Callum McGregor powered Celtic to a comfortable 3-0 win, blowing Rangers aside in dominant fashion. However, yesterday’s match against Aberdeen proved to be a much tougher challenge for the Bhoys, with things far from straightforward this time around.

Indeed, the Dons defended resolutely and made the most of the few chances they created, putting Celtic on the back foot at times. While the Hoops arguably should have won and were partly the architects of their own downfall, credit must be given to Jimmy Thelin and his side for their determined display.

After the match, Tom English, chief sports writer for BBC Scotland, acknowledged that Aberdeen posed a greater challenge to the Premiership champions than Rangers did in their encounter last month.

“Aberdeen’s performance today was streets ahead of Rangers’ performance against Celtic,” Tom English said live on BBC Sportsound. “There’s no comparison in who caused Celtic more problems.”

Much of the pre-match buzz centered around Aberdeen and their impressive run of form leading up to yesterday’s clash, making their resilient performance against the champions all the more significant.

The match at Parkhead marked Aberdeen’s first true test of the season, and they emerged with a respectable performance. The Dons caused Celtic real problems on Saturday and are poised to do so again in their upcoming clash at Hampden in two weeks.

At present, Aberdeen appear to be the closest challengers to the reigning champions in Scotland, despite Celtic’s inability to find a late winner yesterday afternoon.