How Celtic have torched a path to Viaplay Cup final with latest four-goal haul taking season tally to 106

As a warm-up for their Viaplay Cup final next Sunday, Celtic dished out nothing short of a torching to a helpless Aberdeen.

Celtic's Reo Hatate shows his delights over bagging a double on an afternoon when he proved an irrepressible presence as Aberdeen were rolled over 4-0. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

It was Reo Hatate who wielded the flame-thrower with a double - the irrepressible playmaker’s second in as many games - but really Celtic were able to start fires all over the pitch across their latest one-sided encounter that delivered a 4-0 victory. A ninth straight win - wherein they have netted at least four goals on five occasions and, over across those 810-plus minutes, conceded a mere two - Ange Postecoglou’s men are in their hottest domestic form of a near-faultless domestic campaign. The Pittodrie men, under the interim management of Barry Robson for a third outing, succeeded in dousing a few fires in quelling their hosts for a 30-minute period early in the second half - but by then they were already immolated by the loss of two early goals. The first of which arrived a matter of 100-odd seconds in, Callum McGregor pouncing on a headed clearance to rifle in from 14 yards.

The Celtic captain and Hatate then set about pulling more strings than Geppetto as an impoverished Aberdeen were yanked every which way. Probing and penetrating passes were produced by the pair with dizzying regularity. It allowed Celtic to keep forcing themselves on powerless opponents, Oh Hyeon-gyu a rumbustious presence on a first start – which meant Kyogo Furuhashi being given a breather on the bench – as the ball was shuttled and they scuttled around. Something had to give as they crafted a plethora of openings and it did when a crisp move allowed Hatate to guide a precision low drive into the corner after only 13 minutes.

Approaching the interval, referee Willie Collum - on his first appearance at Celtic Park this season - seemed to provide the opportunity for a third after Daizen Maeda was chopped down by an unsighted Jonny Hayes as the forward steamed towards the ball from behind the Irishman as he prepared to clear. A VAR check, though, correctly identified Jota had been offside when played in for a saved shot in the lead-up to the felling. It was bemusing this had been missed by the officials in real time.

Aberdeen, to their credit, didn’t simply fold in standing up to their hosts in the early stages of the second half. Only for Postecoglou to whip up a second wave from his side by changing five of his front six, with Sead Haksabanovic, Tomoki Iwata, Liel Abada and Furuhashi introduced midway through the period. Hatate also later departed to a raucous ovation later on, replaced by a lively James Forrest. But not before he borrowed forward with quarter of an hour left and fed McGregor before being on-hand to drill in another immaculate finish after his fellow midfielder’s blocked through ball broke into his path.

Even with the clocking ticking towards 90, Celtic often find time to strike once more, and so it proved when Haksabanovic twisted his marker inside out on the left-hand channel then drove over cross that Abada battered in first time, a hand from keeper Jay Gorter insufficient to deny the winger an 11th goal of the season. The strike was Celtic’s 106th across their 37 games this season, a monster return, with at least 16 games still to contest. A frightening thought for the rest of Scottish football.