Celtic eased to a routine win over Dundee United to give themselves a perfect tune-up for the far sterner test that awaits them when they travel to face Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
Brendan Rodgers rested a host of his regulars, but goals from Callum McGregor, Jota and Adam Idah were more than enough to see off a United side who rarely threatened to pull off a shock.
Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…
Jota cranking back up to full speed
The Celtic support’s superstar from Portugal was given a start here as Rodgers tries to get him back up to full fitness, but even operating as he is a little short of his top level, he is still such a threat.
The flicks and tricks are great to watch and get the crowd off their seats, but as his manager stressed a couple of weeks ago, he very much has the substance too to back up the flair.
He was giving Emmanuel Adegboyega - a fish out of water on the right of the United defence - a torrid old time of it, and he got the goal the fans wanted to see as he doubled Celtic’s lead with a goal typical of his previous spells at the club.
He picked the ball up wide on the left, drifted inside past his marker as if he wasn’t there, and curled a delicious effort across Walton and into the far corner, with the United keeper not helped by the dangling leg of Luke McCowan, who had run across the line of the shot.
It was another productive hour under the belt, and he may enter the conversation now to start in Munich on Tuesday night. Of course, for that to happen, there may have to be a reshuffle of sorts…
Idah or Daizen Maeda up top?
The red-hot Japanese attacker was given the first hour off against United after Rodgers admitted ‘running the legs off him’ in the weeks leading up to the first leg against Bayern, assuming that Maeda was going to be suspended.
Celtic's appeal of course was successful, allowing Maeda to operate on the left wing with Idah up through the middle, but given that Celtic looked a far greater threat against the Germans when Maeda was pushed up through the middle, and with Jota now edging closer to full fitness, there is now a debate over how Rodgers should configure his attack in Bavaria.
We weren’t really given any clues here. Idah had operated up through the middle with little joy really until he curled an absolute peach into the top corner from the edge of the area out of nowhere with his last kick of the game five minutes from the end. A timely reminder of the threat he can pose too.
A front three of Jota, Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn is one that would certainly set the pulses racing, mind you. On paper, at least.
Was Jota’s hour here an attempt to get him ready for such a set up? It’s an intriguing prospect.
Indispensable McGregor among the goals again
Goals for the Celtic captain weren’t exactly collector’s items in seasons gone by, but his prolific form this season has been an outlier compared to his return in recent years. The only surprise as he opened the scoring here then was that his strike was from inside the box.
Of his eight goals now this term, it was the first one that has been scored from inside the area, but it was just as fine a finish as any of the strikes that preceded it.
After 23 minutes of a lot of Celtic passing and not a lot else, McGregor clearly decided he had seen enough. The skipper picked up the ball 25 yards out, slalomed his way past a couple of weak United challenges, and reversed the ball low past Walton to break the deadlock.
He almost repeated the trick shortly after, his right foot effort being deflected just wide.
It is remarkable that there were one or two grumbles about the form the 31-year-old over the festive period. He seems to have been performing at this level consistently for years, while adding these regular goals too.
It is telling that even on an afternoon where Rodgers was always going to shuffle his pack with Munich in mind, McGregor retained his place at the heart of everything. Indispensable.
United lack punch, but have more important bouts ahead
It appeared in the opening stages as if United were going to attempt what Bayern Munich had done here during the week by pressing the Celtic defence high up the pitch, as the busy Allan Campbell got close to Sam Dalby and attempted to put Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers under pressure in possession.
That didn’t last though, and Celtic soon pinned the visitors back. And the deeper they got, the more that their eventual defeat seemed inevitable.
There is no shame in that, of course, against the attacking riches that Celtic enjoy. And through Glenn Middleton on the left, they did offer the odd counter the other way, as two dangerous crosses in the first half from the winger went unrewarded.
Defensively too they managed to steady the ship in the second half until Idah’s late stunner. Adegboyega ahead of Ryan Strain at right back didn’t work, but that apart, they weren’t too bad.
Next week’s game against Motherwell at Tannadice is of far greater significance.
Celtic defence quietly building up impressive record
For all that the Celtic attackers are getting headlines – and deservedly so – it should also be noted that their defence has been rock solid too at home. In fact, their draw against Aberdeen apart, they have yet to concede a goal in a league game at Celtic Park.
It was something of a surprise to see both Carter-Vickers and Trusty play 90 minutes here with Liam Scales in reserve, but whoever Rodgers seems to pick, they more than have the measure of their domestic opposition.
