Abada bing, Abada boom.
The Oxford English dictionary describes the phrase “bada bing bada boom” as an “exclamation that emphasizes something will happen effortlessly and predictably”.
Liel Abada, the young Celtic winger who netted his first hat-trick for the Parkhead club in the 9-0 rout of Dundee United at Tannadice last Sunday, is certainly not finding scoring especially taxing at the moment.
It was almost inevitable the Israeli would net in the opening Old Firm match of the season in the East End of Glasgow this afternoon. He claimed a double and was a worthy recipient of the Man of the Match award at the end of 90 one-sided minutes.
The Scottish champions have had worst starts to derby matches in the past. But not much. When Kyogo Furuhashi went down in the very first minute after an innocuous challenge by John Lundstram there was a collective intake of breath around the packed stadium.
The Japanese internationalist is the darling of the Celtic support. He has proved £4.6m very well spent since arriving from Vissel Kobe in his homeland last summer. And he has been in excellent form up front in recent weeks.
The slight skilful striker also netted three times on Tayside to take his haul for the 2022/23 campaign to six. Losing the 27-year-old, who limped off with an injured shoulder in the fifth minute, was a serious blow. Even if Giorgos Giakoumakis, no slouch in and around the penalty box himself, came on.
But Abada stepped forward and set the tone for the afternoon in the eighth minute when he drifted inside and notched a well-taken opener. Furuhashi would have been proud of his anticipation, his movement and his finish.
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year picked up a t-shirt that paid tribute to Leon Brown, the young supporter who tragically passed away this week, from the crowd as he celebrated. It is no wonder the fans adore him so.
There was more to come from the wide man. The 20-year-old was in the exactly the right place at exactly the right time five minutes before half-time when the visitors’ defence failed to clear a Greg Taylor cut back. He rifled through the legs of Jon McLaughlin.
Where was Rangers left back Borna Barisic? The away supporters who were crammed into a corner of the ground must have experienced a horrible sense of déjà vu when the Croatian was posted missing. Exactly the same thing had happened in the league game at Parkhead in February.
Abada had very much got the better of his rival that evening and opened his account in the fixture. It was, as the Americans say, a no brainer for Ange Postecoglou to select him again today ahead of Daizen Maeda, Sead Haksabanovic and James Forrest.
The former Maccabi Petah Tikva forward, a £3.6m acquisition shortly after Poastecoglou arrived in this country last year, is one of many gifted attackers who the Greek-Australian coach can call on. Jota is another. His sublime second was the pick of the four goals.
It is, however, staggering to think that Abada is still only 20. To come so far away from home and perform to such a high level on a consistent basis last term said much about his mentality as well as his ability. He will only improve as he matures further.
He did not just contribute two goals yesterday. He linked well with Josip Juranovic behind him, dropped deep when the right back overlapped and whipped crosses in to Giakoumakis. He was unlucky not to win a penalty when Ryan Kent bundled him over. He tested McLaughlin in the second-half with a long-range shot.
There is, with Forrest, Haksabanovic and Maeda all more than capable of tormenting opposition full-backs and scoring, no chance of his performances dipping in the weeks and months ahead. He can now be rested if the hectic schedule of matches take their toll on him.
The Champions League opener against holders Real Madrid on Tuesday evening will be a step up for Abada and his team mates. Carlo Ancelotti will be keen for the Spanish superstars to open the defence of their title with a win and is likely to field Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Luca Modric.
Furuhashi will certainly be missed he fails to recover from his knock in time even if Giakoumakis has considerable experience of playing against top class European opposition as well as the self-belief required to get the better of Thibaut Courtois.
Still, Celtic fans will be confident they can turn on the style themselves and claim a famous scalp with Liel Abada, who received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Maeda with 17 minutes remaining, in this sort of mood.
