Celtic blew Kilmarnock away as they put on a devastating first half show of firepower to move within one win of the title.
Celtic will also be crowned champions once again should Rangers fail to defeat Aberdeen at Pittodrie tomorrow, and they showed here just why the moment will inevitably arrive as they bounced back from defeat at St Johnstone last time out in some style.
A stunning Reo Hatate effort set them on their way after just nine minutes, with Daizen Maeda tapping home a second just a couple of minutes later.
You worried for Killie at that stage, and those fears were well founded. Cameron Carter-Vickers strode forward unchallenged to unleash a ridiculous effort into the top corner for Celtic’s third, before Hatate calmly added a fourth. And this was midway through the first half.
A rather fortuitous Danny Armstrong goal stemmed the tide at least before the break, but there was time just before the end for substitute Anthony Ralston to put the icing on the cake with a really well-taken fifth.
Here are the talking points from Celtic Park...
Title party delayed, but fans lap up goal-fest
A glorious spring afternoon with the sun shining down on Celtic Park. It had all the ingredients for a title party. Except, it wasn’t. Not quite.
Celtic’s lacklustre showing in defeat to St Johnstone last weekend meant that the champagne was on ice against Kilmarnock. But what Brendan Rodgers’ men had to show was a reaction to that surprise loss and display an appetite in their game that has been posted missing of late.
They did that, alright.
The scintillating Celts blasted out of the blocks and were four goals to the good within 23 minutes against a hapless, helpless Killie outfit.
The passing was slick, and quick. The pressing was relentless. The quality of the finishing was bordering on the ridiculous. In short, Celtic displayed everything in that opening spell that was so starkly absent as they were outfought by the Saints last Sunday.
This was much more like it from the champions, allowing them to treat the second half like a pre-season friendly, never mind an end of season procession.
Hatate shows his class, but Idah struggles up top again
Such was the anger from Rodgers at last week’s display, there was always going to be something of a shake-up to the Celtic starting XI. The least surprising of those changes was the omission of Nicolas Kuhn, hooked at half time at McDiarmid Park, with James Forrest coming in on the right.
Auston Trusty also dropped to the bench with Liam Scales coming in, while up top, Rodgers gave Adam Idah a run out with Maeda dropping onto the left and Jota dropping out.
This was a great opportunity for the big striker, who has struggled for form all season, against a team that was all over the place at the back. But despite the rest of the Celtic team filling their boots, he couldn’t get himself in on the act.
In fact, even his general play was below the level you may expect, with moves breaking down as he failed to bring the ball under his spell, earning him a rebuke from captain Callum McGregor in one instance after a long passing move ended with a clumsy touch from the Irishman.
It has been a frustrating season for Idah on the whole since his big-money summer move from Norwich, and Rodgers and the Celtic fans will want to see more from him in this final stretch, after he shone in this period last term.
On the flip side of the coin, Hatate was a standout performer, scoring two brilliantly taken goals and being unlucky not to claim a first half hat-trick.
There is sometimes a feeling that it is all sugar or all, well, the opposite, from the midfielder, but he was at his brilliant best here. If he could add consistency to his game, he likely wouldn’t be here. A devastating display.
Killie don’t give themselves a chance with woeful defending
Oh dear. Where to start? In mitigation for Killie, there are few teams domestically who could live with Celtic when they are in this kind of mood, but they hardly helped themselves with some woeful defending.
Derek McInnes is known as a coach who prides himself on the organisation of his teams, but they were all over the shop here - dropping runners, ball watching, diving into challenges or failing to close men down altogether, you name it.
For Celtic’s first, Hatate has acres on the edge of the area, ditto Carter-Vickers at their third. Fraser Murray is caught dreaming for the second, while Lewis Mayo completely sells himself to allow Hatate to bag the fourth.
From a Celtic point of view, these were all excellent goals, but from a Killie perspective, they were disastrous. They didn’t give themselves a chance.
If they are to have any chance of staying out of the relegation playoff spot over the final five games of the season, they will have to sort that out, and pronto.
Greg Taylor proves he will be a miss
Perhaps in a nod to the fact that he might not be starting many more games at Celtic Park, Taylor took the opportunity here to walk out holding his newborn daughter, making it a day to remember for the full back in more ways than one against his old club.
When the action got underway, he showed exactly what Celtic might be missing should he leave the club this summer as expected.
The arrival of Kieran Tierney will of course soften that blow, but it was clear here just why Celtic manager Rodgers was also keen to keep him on board, playing as a central midfielder for the most part to great effect.
He has been underrated at times during his Celtic career, but the ovation he received here when he took his leave on the hour showed that he may no longer be underappreciated.
Arne Engels impresses too
There has rarely been any doubt about the ability of the young Belgian, and you could argue that its easy to strut around the midfield against a shellshocked Killie outfit. But there were real flashes of Engels’ class on display here, and in telling areas.
He was unlucky not to add a goal to cap off an eye-catching display, curling a second half effort off the face of the bar, and the challenge for him next season will be to produce these levels in the really big games.
