Rampant Reo Hatate sprinkled magic across Parkhead as Celtic maintained their relentless Premiership pace.
The Japanese playmaker produced two swashbuckling goals as the hosts disposed of Aberdeen. Callum McGregor didn’t hang around this time to put the Dons to the sword. The captain had to wait until the final stages to hit the winner when the teams previously met just before Christmas in the Granite City.
But McGregor didn’t even need two minutes in Glasgow’s East End to set the champions on their way to yet another victory and lay the platform for Hatate to dazzle. The midfielder swayed from side to side to add a quickfire second for Ange Postecoglou’s men as they assumed command.
Hatate kept his best for next with the third after the interval. Having produced fantastic skill in the midfield to set an attack in motion, he followed up the play to pounce on a defensive slip and crack his second before sub Liel Abada rifled a fourth to seal a dominant day.
It was a rough day for the Reds. Interim boss Barry Robson and his side were staring down the barrel after their nightmare beginning. The Dons were able to stem the tide for a spell and not be completely overrun after their disastrous opening, but they failed to register a proper effort at Joe Hart and ended up thumped.
It was plain sailing for Postecoglou’s men as they geared up in style for next weekend’s Viaplay Cup Final against Rangers.
Celtic led inside two minutes after Greg Taylor’s cross from the left was headed to the edge of the box by Jonny Hayes. McGregor was first to the loose ball and drove a low finish which beat Jay Gorter, despite the keeper getting a hand on it.
Jota had pressured Hayes into that mistake and the Portuguese was causing mayhem in those initial stages with one ball which should have been converted and a strike just wide.
Aberdeen were being cut apart and Hatate doubled the lead with 12 on the clock. The midfield magician took a pass inside the box and swayed his body from side to deceive defenders before slotting into Gorter’s bottom left-hand corner.
Maeda was inches from Taylor’s cross and Hatate also stabbed an effort into Gorter’s gloves. Celtic thought they had a penalty before half-time when Willie Collum spotted Hayes catch Maeda as they chased a saved Jota shot.
However, after a VAR check, the winger was ruled offside before stinging the palms of the Dutch kid and he also failed to net a far-post header from an Alistair Johnston cross.
Matt O’Riley, in at the expense of the absent Aaron Mooy, also had a shot saved following a blistering counter attack. Leighton Clarkson knocked Aberdeen’s first chance over when it restarted and sent another wayward effort on the volley out for a throw-in.
However, apart from a couple of strange Hart moments, it was one-way traffic towards the Reds goal and Hatate’s beautiful third sealed the deal.
It could have been much more as sub Sead Haksabanovic cracked a couple of efforts just off target. In the end, the Montenegrin international settled for setting up Abada to drill home a fourth with a couple of minutes of normal time remaining as the champions again ran rivals ragged.
Oh gets an opportunity
The South Korean kid was handed his starting chance with Kyogo Furuhashi left on the bench and it’s no simple task to deputise for the top scorer. Oh displayed his strength to hold off defenders in packed spaces and got involved in the attacking play with hold-up work.
However, it’ll still take time for him to get on the exact wavelength in some aspects with one instant cross from Matt O’Riley flashed across the six-yard line without the Dane looking into a spot where Kyogo would have been flashing in to tap home. Oh didn’t anticipate, but that’ll come. He had limited room to work. Prepared to graft before Kyogo took over in the final stages.
Robbo not judged on this result
No manager has found a way to halt Celtic in the domestic game on their own patch this season and the interim boss was the latest to suffer. Robson was left with a headache inside two minutes as the hosts opened the scoring and there was not the ability to get a foothold afterwards during a one-sided opening period where, at times, the Dons didn’t have a player within 60 yards of the Celtic goal. Aberdeen fans expect more than damage limitation from a Aberdeen side when they head to Glasgow, but this is a difficult period for the club and they were facing a formidable force.
Tell Tayl sign
Greg Taylor goes down on the team sheet as one of the defenders, but his contribution to the attacking side of the play and the amount of goals which he is involved in making is astonishing.
The Scotland star played his part in the scoring of the two first-half goals and is constantly in the right area to take and make passes. With the options he has in front of him, there are plenty of targets and he makes full use of them with his accurate and swift distribution. The likes of Hatate and Maeda get plenty of early ball to work with or run onto and it’s a permanent supply chain.
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