By Graeme Macpherson

Copyright scotsman

Brendan Rodgers praised Celtic’s clinical cup display against Partick Thistle as they set up a Hampden semi-final showdown with Rangers. Goals in the first half from Hyun-jun Yang and Liam Scales had Celtic well in control, with additional strikes after the break from Sebastian Tounekti and Luke McCowan adding further gloss to the scoreline. The semi-final draw took place immediately after the final whistle at Firhill and paired Celtic with Rangers, with Motherwell taking on St Mirren in the other semi-final. The ties will take place on the weekend of November 1/2 and Rodgers vowed Celtic will be ready when that derby rolls around. He said: “Whatever team you play in the semi-final, going to Hampden, I think that was important for us to get back there. There are a lot of games between now and then and hopefully we can build the rhythm and keep growing and arrive in a good place for the semi. “Our objective is to get to the final. Both teams will be giving everything to get through but there’s a lot of football before that.” Tounekti caught the eye with a bright performance on the Celtic left wing and Rodgers believes the summer recruit from Hammarby will grow to become a key component in his side. He added: “He excites me every time he gets the ball and that’s what we were desperate for in the team. He’s come in really aggressive. He’s a really talented boy because he can go either way and, not only that, he can also run in behind. “You see the number of times he makes runs. Sometimes he doesn’t get the ball, sometimes he does, but he’s running off the ball as well. I’m really excited for where he is and where we can bring him to. But importantly, supporters will love watching him because he’s so exciting.” Celtic now turn their thoughts to the Europa League and an opening league match away to Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night. Rodgers added: “Any European competition is a great honour to be in. We always want to be in the Champions League. That’s where I believe the club should be. But if we’re not there, then of course we can do well in this competition. “We’re excited by it and how far we can go. We’ve obviously got good but tough fixtures. And then we’ll see where we are at the end of it. “I think we’re building. It’s very, very difficult to be hot all year round. Last year, we started like a house on fire and maybe towards the end of the season, just dropped a little bit. “This season, obviously, with everything over the summer, it’s taken a bit of time, but we’re building and building rhythm and confidence. And I thought you could see that today. It’s such a long season. It’s still very early but seeing that today shows we’re on the right path.” Partick Thistle barely laid a glove on Celtic in a one-sided contest but manager Mark Wilson was not overly critical of his players. He said: “I said to the guys after it that they’re not going to come up against that level of opposition in our division. They have to take everything they can from it and I hope it makes us better as a team.”