Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to four points with victory against St Johnstone in Perth.
Nadir Ciftci and Dedryck Boyota scored from close-range either side of the half-time break to put the visitors into a commanding lead
In-form Saints came painfully close to pulling one back when Brian Easton's shot from distance hit a post.
Ciftci headed his second just after the hour to secure a seventh win in eight league games for the champions.
On the face it, a 3-0 win looked a rout, but that would be to do Saints a small injustice. They did much to add to what was a good contest for a chunk of the afternoon.
As early as the first minute they had a wonderful opportunity to open the scoring when Stefan Johansen lost the ball and Steven Maclean put Michael O'Halloran through on Craig Gordon in the Celtic goal.
Boyata headed Celtic 2-0 in front
The attacker's shot was indecisive and Gordon managed to turn it away for a corner.
Gordon's saves - and St Johnstone's profligacy - would become one of the themes of the day.
In those early minutes, the hosts had a bite about them that troubled Celtic. They hustled and harried. Celtic did not get into the pitch of it until midway through the half. When they did, it was Tom Rogic, more than anybody else, who got them there.
Rogic was impressive throughout. He put Ciftci in for a fine chance just before the half-hour but the Turk's shot was saved by Alan Mannus.
Credit to Ciftci - when another chance came his way, he buried it. Callum McGregor's corner fell kindly to him. He controlled the ball on his thigh and then thumped it home from inside the six-yard box.
And there was another theme - Saints' vulnerability so close to their own goal. Boyota could have scored from a corner soon after.
Saints are dogged competitors. Sure, they succumbed to Celtic's quality later on, but they had chances before the goals arrived.
Ciftci celebrates scoring his second and Celtic's third
Murray Davidson and David Wotherspoon forced saves from Gordon just before the break and O'Halloran curled one narrowly wide directly after.
Even after Boyota thundered home a header from McGregor's corner to make it 2-0, there were signs of life. Easton's lusty hit from distance came off Gordon's left-hand post.
Celtic closed it out from there. And they were excellent. Rogic had a chance, then Ciftci scored his second after a precise cross from Mikael Lustig.
It was fine tribute to Ronny Deila's team that once more they responded to European disappointment with domestic dominance.
This was the 10th match in a row where Celtic have won, having played in Europe earlier in the week.
They were clinical and professional against a team that had been flying - nine wins in 11 games in all competitions - before this swatting by the champions.
The fact that the previously beleaguered Ciftci doubled his Celtic tally - from two to four - was an extra plus on a pleasing day for the visitors.
Lineup, Bookings (5) & Substitutions (5)
St Johnstone
- 01 Mannus
- 14 Shaughnessy
- 02 Mackay Booked
- 06 Anderson
- 24 B Easton
- 10 Wotherspoon Booked
- 07 Millar (Caddis - 34' )
- 08 Davidson
- 26 Craig
- 29 O'Halloran
- 09 MacLean Booked (Kane - 81' )
Substitutes
- 03 Scobbie
- 11 Sutton
- 12 Clark
- 15 McKay
- 16 Caddis
- 25 Kane
- 27 Thomson
Celtic
- 01 Gordon
- 23 Lustig
- 20 Boyata
- 05 Simunovic
- 03 Izaguirre Booked
- 25 Johansen Booked
- 18 Rogic (Cole - 81' )
- 49 Forrest
- 14 Armstrong (Commons - 72' )
- 42 McGregor
- 07 Ciftci (Allan - 89' )
Substitutes
- 04 Ambrose
- 15 Commons
- 16 Mackay-Steven
- 19 Allan
- 24 Cole
- 26 Bailly
- 63 Tierney
Match Stats
Live Text Commentary
Full Time Match ends, St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 3.
90:00 +1:57 Full timeFull Time Second Half ends, St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 3.
90:00 +1:27Corner, Celtic. Conceded by David Mackay.
90:00 +1:20Attempt blocked. Carlton Cole (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
88:11 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Celtic. Scott Allan replaces Nadir Ciftci.
86:25Michael O'Halloran (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
86:25Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
83:05Foul by Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone).
83:05James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
82:01Foul by Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone).
82:01Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
80:37 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Celtic. Carlton Cole replaces Tomas Rogic.
80:22 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, St. Johnstone. Christopher Kane replaces Steven MacLean.
80:10Liam Caddis (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick on the left wing.
80:10Foul by James Forrest (Celtic).
76:14Liam Caddis (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
76:14Foul by Kris Commons (Celtic).
71:05 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Celtic. Kris Commons replaces Stuart Armstrong.
68:52Corner, Celtic. Conceded by David Mackay.
66:33 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 3. Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mikael Lustig with a cross.
Liam Craig (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
63:04Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
62:20 BookingBooking David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
62:09Foul by David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone).
62:09James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
61:32Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Murray Davidson.
61:21Attempt blocked. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
60:50Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Brian Easton.
59:51Attempt missed. David Mackay (St. Johnstone) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
58:53 BookingBooking Stefan Johansen (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
58:49David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
58:49Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
57:05Delay over. They are ready to continue.
56:20Delay in match Craig Gordon (Celtic) because of an injury.
55:14Attempt missed. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
52:53Liam Caddis (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
52:53Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
50:02Liam Caddis (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
50:02Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
49:34Brian Easton (St. Johnstone) hits the left post with a left footed shot from outside the box.
48:09 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 2. Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Callum McGregor with a cross.
48:01Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Liam Craig.
46:24Liam Caddis (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick on the left wing.
46:24Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
45:00Second Half begins St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 1.
45:00 +1:01 Half timeHalf Time First Half ends, St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 1.
45:00 +1:00 BookingBooking David Mackay (St. Johnstone) is shown the yellow card.
45:00 +0:35 BookingBooking Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
45:00 +0:22Foul by Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone).
45:00 +0:22Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
44:22Attempt missed. Michael O'Halloran (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
42:20Attempt missed. Steven Anderson (St. Johnstone) header from the centre of the box misses to the left.
42:13Corner, St. Johnstone. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
42:05Attempt saved. Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
41:41Attempt saved. Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
40:49Attempt missed. Liam Craig (St. Johnstone) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
40:13Michael O'Halloran (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
40:13Foul by Mikael Lustig (Celtic).
38:24Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
38:24David Mackay (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
38:13Attempt saved. Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) header from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal.
37:49Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Joe Shaughnessy.
34:38 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! St. Johnstone 0, Celtic 1. Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Callum McGregor with a cross.
34:22Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Liam Craig.
33:22 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, St. Johnstone. Liam Caddis replaces Chris Millar because of an injury.
32:33Delay in match Chris Millar (St. Johnstone) because of an injury.
32:10Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
32:10Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
26:30Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Alan Mannus.
26:17Attempt saved. Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
24:24Attempt missed. Liam Craig (St. Johnstone) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
22:59 BookingBooking Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
22:55Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
22:55David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:08Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
19:08Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
16:55Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
16:55Foul by Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone).
13:44Chris Millar (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
13:44Foul by Nadir Ciftci (Celtic).
10:29Corner, St. Johnstone. Conceded by Jozo Simunovic.
9:16Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
9:16Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
8:50Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
8:50Foul by Steven MacLean (St. Johnstone).
6:40Attempt saved. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
5:39Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
5:39Foul by David Mackay (St. Johnstone).
1:47Attempt saved. Joe Shaughnessy (St. Johnstone) header from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal.
1:17Corner, St. Johnstone. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
1:02Attempt saved. Michael O'Halloran (St. Johnstone) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
0:00First Half begins.
0:00Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
Live data and text provided by our data suppliers
