'Aberdeen have made a brilliant start,' says Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers after the Dons pile more misery on Rangers. 'But so have we!'

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Brendan Rodgers refused to be drawn on whether he now views Aberdeen as Celtic’s main rivals in the title race.

On a night of high drama in the Premiership, Aberdeen kept pace with Celtic at the top of the table thanks to a rousing 2-1 victory over Rangers at Pittodrie.

Jimmy Thelin’s side have enjoyed a stunning start to the season, winning nine of their 10 league matches so far and drawing 2-2 at Celtic Park.

Celtic beat Dundee 2-0 at Parkhead thanks to goals from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels, ensuring they remain ahead of the Dons on goal difference.

Rodgers lavished praised on Aberdeen but kept his cards close to his chest when asked about the threat they could pose in the title race.

Asked if he was surprised that Rangers are now nine points behind, coupled with Aberdeen breathing down Celtic’s neck, Rodgers replied: ‘Aberdeen have had a fantastic start.

Brendan Rodgers was delighted as his side maintained their place at the top of the table

Arne Engels celebrates his crucial second goal to see off Dundee at Parkhead

Alistair Johnston had earlier come off the bench to open the scoring for Rodgers' side

‘That’s a really good result for them tonight. But, as I’m sure you can respect, my focus is very much on Celtic.

‘Our guys have made a brilliant start also, in terms of how they’ve been playing, the goals they’ve been scoring, secure defensively in the main and in a really good position in the Champions League.

‘But it’s still so early. My first marker is after 10 games. And if I look at it after 10 games, then we’ve made a really good start. Aberdeen are there as well, but there’s still such a long way to go.

‘It was job done for us in this game. We made some changes to the team. We controlled the game, created chances, should have had more goals and didn’t concede. So we have to be happy.’

Rodgers confirmed that Callum McGregor, Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn should all be fit for Saturday night’s blockbuster League Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen at Hampden.

McGregor, Idah and Kuhn were all absent from the Celtic squad last night due to some niggling fitness concerns, but Rodgers is confident the key trio will be fit to face the Dons.

‘Adam Idah, Nicolas Kuhn and Callum McGregor will all be fine for the weekend,’ said Rodgers.

‘Nicolas Kuhn had a sore hip after the game at the weekend. But he trained today, so that was good. Callum as well, and Adam also. We’ll see their reaction. Hopefully, it will be all right.

‘I think Adam’s got away with one. He’s still a bit sore, a bit swollen, but the medical team tell me he’s done a bit of work today. So, hopefully, no reaction to it.

‘It was a poor challenge [from Motherwell defender Liam Gordon]. I think everyone could see that.

‘But, yes, we’ve had, and he’s had, more importantly, that little bit of luck because he’s a very, very important player for us in our squad.

‘It’s always great occasions. I love going to Hampden and we’re in a really good place arriving into there. We’ve got players coming back and hopefully it’ll be a really exciting game.’