Celtic will go into the winter break in fine fettle after coasting past St Mirren, consolidating their win over Rangers and their position at the top of the Premiership with a straightforward triumph at the SMiSA.
A goal with less than a minute on the clock from Daizen Maeda set them on their way, before a second in short order from the outstanding Matt O’Riley just about put the contest to bed within six.
Olutoysi Olusanya was sent off just before the interval for the hosts for a challenge on Joe Hart, before Greg Taylor added a third for the champions in the second half.
Here are the talking points from a Paisley procession for the champions…
MAEDA SHOWS WHAT HE HAS IN THE LOCKER
The Celtic attacker is quite the conundrum. At times, he appears to be a hugely impressive athlete who has nevertheless only briefly been acquainted with a football, and at others, he shows just how valuable an asset he can be when he marries his speed and energy with a rare piece of composure.
It was the latter version that showed up here, and his calm finish under Zach Hemming was all the more impressive when you consider just 54 seconds had elapsed when his big chance arrived.
How the ball got to him was just as laudable, with a slick Celtic passing move cutting St Mirren apart and leaving their manager Stephen Robinson’s game plan in tatters.
Alex Gogic headed a hopeful Luis Palma ball out into midfield where it was picked up by Callum McGregor. His first thought was to play the ball forward into O’Riley, who in turn produced a delightful pass inside Saints defender Scott Tanser and perfectly into the path for Maeda to charge in on Hemming and apply the finish.
It was just his third goal of an injury-hit season to date, and his first since October. But he showed here that he will likely be missed when he departs for Asian Cup duty with Japan, despite his sporadic contribution to the cause.
O’RILEY OOZES CLASS
After marking his 100th appearance for Celtic with a brilliant assist, O’Riley quickly applied the icing to the cake to celebrate the occasion with a goal of his own.
Much of it was owed to his doppelganger Paulo Bernardo, who took a Taylor pass on the turn inside the St Mirren area to send Gogic for a hot dog and then fed the ball inside to O’Riley.
The midfielder dropped a shoulder to evade a desperate Tanser attempt to block his shot, then slotted the ball home through the legs of Hemming to put Celtic on easy street just six minutes in.
It was O’Riley’s tenth goal of a stellar season so far, after finding the net just four times in the entirety of the previous campaign, and Celtic fans will be praying that they can hold onto one of their main assets during the January window with suitors lurking.
It would surely take a mammoth, record-breaking offer for Celtic to entertain his departure at this critical juncture, but the smart money says that they will wait until at least the summer before contemplating cashing in on what has been a sensational find from MK Dons.
NO INTENT FROM DISMISSED OLUSANYA, BUT NO CHOICE FOR REFEREE
Just when the Saints thought they had made it to the sanctuary of the half-time interval and a chance to regroup for a second-half push, their already improbable task was made impossible as Olusanya eventually saw red after a VAR check for a high challenge on Hart.
In real time, he looked to have been justified in going for a cross that the Celtic keeper just beat him to, but when his boot caught Hart in the face it drew gasps from the crowd.
The keeper was magnanimous enough about the challenge and accepted the hand of apology when offered, and Olusanya was more than pleased to accept the yellow card from referee David Munro too, but his relief was short-lived as Steven MacLean intervened from the VAR room.
After a short check, the caution was rightly upgraded to a red for a distraught Olusanya. His intentions were not malicious, but there was no doubt he had endangered his opponent, and the tin lid was firmly applied to a horror first half for the Saints.
CELTIC SHOW INTENT AND AGGRESSION
Celtic defender Liam Scales had revealed after the win over Rangers at the weekend that the Celtic players had had a reset after the defeat to Hearts in mid-December, reasserting some pillars of their approach that had disappeared from their game.
Namely, and most notably, these were the speed and intent of their passing, and their aggression. The improvement in all of these metrics has been building ever since, and was clear to see here from the first whistle.
One of the biggest criticisms that the tactics of Brendan Rodgers attracts is the tendency for his team to recycle possession for possession’s sake, with slow, sideways passing hampering their ability to break down the low blocks they regularly come up against in the Premiership.
There was very little of that here, with the passing crisp, quick and invariably with real intent. That was on display again as Celtic hit their third after the interval, Bernardo again the provider as his forward pass over the top found Taylor of all people breaking in at the back post to thump home on the volley for his second of the season.
Reo Hatate made his comeback in the second half, and once he has returned from Asian Cup duty with Japan, he should further improve the dynamism that Celtic are beginning to regularly show in their play.
SAINTS SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT
One thing any team normally expects when coming up against Robinson’s Saints is a difficult time of it, and that they will be forced to really work for anything they get.
While it could be argued that Celtic’s attacking play in the early stages would have been hard for anyone to live with, the rather dozy defending from the hosts didn’t half help too. But for the outstanding Hemming, it would have been more.
After the win over Aberdeen last time out, it seemed that St Mirren had turned a corner, but they must ensure they learn the lessons of this defeat – which was probably expected – during the winter shutdown.
If they can get back to the well-organised, stuffy unit that has been their trademark, then a very good season can still lie ahead.
