Hearts 0-3 Celtic: How the players rated

Odsonne Edouard tussles with Clevid Dikamona. Picture: SNS Group

HEARTS

Zdenek Zlamal - A huge blunder gifted Celtic their second goal when he allowed Ryan Christie’s tame strike to spin out of his hands and ultimately into the path of James Forrest for an easy tap-in. Made a wonderful stop from Forrest later but the damage was done. 5/10

Michael Smith - Made a crucial tackle on Odsonne Edouard but the right-back was given some difficult moments by Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney. 5

Clevid Dikamona - Fortunate that a very late tackle on Kieran Tierney on the edge of the box went unpunished. Otherwise strong in defence. 6

Jimmy Dunne - Made a goal-line clearance to keep the score down. 6

Demetri Mitchell - Kept James Forrest quiet in the first half but was more stretched after the break. Did not get many chances to get forward. 6

Oliver Bozanic - Cost his team a penalty when making a clumsy challenge on Ryan Christie which he had no need to make. Threatened a couple of times at the other end. 5

Peter Haring - Got about well despite a hernia problem which forced him to miss the previous two games. 6

Olly Lee - Added some much-needed composure to Hearts’ play and threatened with the first shot on target of the day. 7

Arnaud Djoum - The Cameroon midfielder could not get Hearts moving forward. 5

Steven Naismith - The Scotland striker went down with what appeared to be a knee problem before trudging off in the eighth minute. 4

Steven MacLean - The striker got away with a bizarre tangle with Eboue Kouassi while already on a booking when he appeared to grab the midfielder’s private parts. Was well offside as he scrambled home before being flagged and became increasingly isolated. 6

Substitutes

Danny Amankwaa (for Naismith, eight minutes) - Had only played four minutes of football this season before being thrust into the action. Put himself about well in the first half but could not get involved after the interval. 5

Callumn Morrison (for Bozanic, 70) - His attacking threat down the right wing was sacrificed for a more compact formation and he came on too late to get Hearts back in the game. 5

Sean Clare (for Lee, 76) - The midfielder helped the damage limitation efforts. 5

CELTIC

Scott Bain - Good handling and with the ball at his feet, a comfortable day for the goalkeeper. 6

Mikael Lustig - The stand-in captain helped Celtic push play into the Hearts half. 7

Kristoffer Ajer - After one shaky moment early on, the Norwegian enjoyed a relatively quiet afternoon. 6

Filip Benkovic - The centre-back looked in assured form. Came close with late effort that sneaked past the wrong side of the post. 6

Kieran Tierney - Never looked under pressure and was a strong attacking force in the second half. 7

Olivier Ntcham - Tried to get Celtic passing and moving after a slow start to the game, but came off at half-time. 6

Eboue Kouassi - Was limping before going down in apparent agony after his brush with MacLean, and went off moments later. 5

James Forrest - Accepted his gift clinically and got more joy drifting inside after the break. 7

Tom Rogic - Grew more influential as the game progressed. 7

Callum McGregor - Made a sloppy start but held Celtic together well after being forced deeper by injuries to others. 6

Odsonne Edouard - Imposed himself on the match in the second half but could not find a finishing touch. 7

Substitutes

Scott Sinclair (for Kouassi, 26) - Immediately lifted Celtic with his direct and skilful running. Slotted a penalty and was denied by a good save and two goal-line clearances. 8

Ryan Christie (for Ntcham, 45) - Was involved in all three goals, capping the win by stroking a brilliant long-range effort into the top corner. 7

Jack Hendry (for Ajer, 79) - Helped Celtic see out the game comfortably. 5