Celtic restored their seven-point cushion at the top of the Scottish Premiership after outclassing Hearts 4-1 at Tynecastle on Sunday.
The Hoops, who clinched their tenth successive win against the Jambos in all competitions for the first time in over a decade, eased to a well-deserved victory in the capital to remain unbeaten in the league.
Matt O’Riley broke the deadlock after just four minutes in Gorgie with a crisply-struck first time volley into the far corner of the net before Daizen Maeda added a close-range second after tapping home Japan team-mate Reo Hatate’s drilled cross.
The second half was just 12 seconds old when Kyogo Furuhashi earned the visitors a penalty after going down in the box under Alex Cochrane’s clumsy challenge, but Hatate’s spot-kick rattled the base of the post.
It didn’t matter as the champions continued to press forward in search of more goals and Furuhashi continued his impressive scoring record against Hearts (eight games) when firing high into the net after 51 minutes.
Lawrence Shankland then ended his goal-drought stretching back to August to deny visiting keeper Joe Hart a clean sheet, but Celtic quickly regained their three-goal lead when substitute Tomoki Iwata crashed home his first goal in over a year to wrap up the points in a one-sided contest.
Here’s our Celtic player ratings from Tynecastle:
Unused subs: Scott Bain (GK), Nat Phillips, David Turnbull, Anthony Ralston.
1. Celtic player ratings vs Hearts - gallery (GlaW)
Kyogo Furuhashi of Celtic celebrates his goal with team mates Matt O’Riley, Callum McGregor, Luis Palma and Daizen Maeda against Hearts.
2. Joe Hart - 7/10
Will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet. Had very little to do all afternoon but couldn’t do anything to stop Shankland’s strike. Photo: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group
3. Alistair Johnston - 6/10
Not his best performance in a Hoops jersey. Slack in possession at time but coped with anything thrown at him down the right-hand side.
4. Cameron Carter-Vickers - 7/10
Another commanding rock-steady display from the American. Excellent sliding tackle prevent a Hearts counter-attacker shortly before half-time.