An electric performance from Celtic saw them sail through to the final of the Premier Sports Cup as they demolished previously unbeaten Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park.
Goals from Cameron Carter-Vickers (29), Kyogo Furuhashi (32) and Nicolas Kuhn (59) followed by a hat-trick from the irresistibly good Daizen Maeda (40, 48, 85) handed Celtic a dominant victory over their opponents.
Following an unexpected 15 delay to kick-off due to low visibility from pyrotechnics, it was Celtic who seized control of the match very early on and it was a performance that cemented their status as Scotland’s best, while Aberdeen now know the size of the challenge ahead of them if they aim to beat them this season.
This result ended manager Jimmy Thelin’s 16-game unbeaten start as Dons boss and they will look to regroup back on Premiership duty next weekend against Dundee.
Celtic, meanwhile, await Rangers or Motherwell in the final next month back at Hampden Park.
Here is how we rated each player out of ten for their display at Hampden Park:
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2. Dimitar Mitov (Aberdeen) - 5
Little he could do with the goals scored by Celtic. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
3. Alistair Johnston (Celtic) - 8
Just keeps on performing to higher and higher levels. Kept Duk that quiet, he was forced off at half-time. The best full-back in Scotland at present. | SNS Group
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4. Nicky Devlin (Aberdeen) - 4
Struggled hugely with Daizen Maeda's pace, who nipped in behind him unnoticed repeatedly. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group