Celtic 8-1 Hamilton Academical

Leigh Griffiths (second right) hit a hat-trick to take his Celtic tally to 54 goals

Leigh Griffiths claimed a hat-trick as Celtic inflicted an eight-goal thrashing on Hamilton at Celtic Park.

Ronny Deila's side scored five times in the opening half, Mikael Lustig, Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic putting them 3-0 ahead after a mere 10 minutes.

Griffiths completed his hat-trick after the break, with James Forrest also scoring to make it six.

Eamonn Brophy scored Hamilton's goal to make it 7-1 before Callum McGregor drove in number eight.

It was the biggest win since the formation of the Scottish Premiership in 2013 and the biggest for Celtic since their 9-0 victory over Aberdeen in November 2010, and means the Scottish Premiership leaders are six points clear of second-placed Aberdeen.

Hamilton were deeply fortunate that it was not a whole lot worse. Eight goals could have been 12 or 14 - and that is no exaggeration. Michael McGovern made some decent saves in the Hamilton goal and Celtic wasted a few other opportunities.

McGovern was Hamilton's best player. In truth, along with the substitute Brophy, he was their only player. The rest were soft touches; easy prey to Celtic's vultures.

The rhythm of the evening was established after just 51 seconds when Griffiths had a shot hacked off the line. So lax in that moment, Hamilton did not - or could not - learn the lesson.

Lustig, standing free three yards out, nodded in a Stuart Armstrong free-kick. Bitton thundered in the second from 30 yards and Rogic's shot went in off Michael Devlin for the third.

The game was just 10 minutes old and Hamilton had lost the plot. Their defending was an abomination, their wastefulness in possession the source of so many of their problems.

Celtic were sharp and relentless - the measure of Hamilton's nightmares. Yet another miscued Hamilton pass found Gary Mackay-Steven, who ran hard and played in Griffiths, who, unsurprisingly, scored.

Hamilton were brushed aside at Celtic Park

The fifth was, again, painfully easy. Rogic slid a cross along the floor into the six-yard box, Hamilton tried to play offside and got it horrendously wrong and Griffiths tapped in.

Deila brought on Forrest and Scott Allan at the break and the latter set up the former for the sixth. As wretched as Hamilton were, some of the stuff that Celtic played in tearing them to ribbons was pretty smart.

It helps, of course, when your opponent is all at sea. When Devlin dallied at the back, Griffiths ransacked him of the ball and then gently lobbed McGovern for 7-0.

A surging run and goal from Brophy briefly halted Celtic's procession, but McGregor thumped in the eighth late on.

Celtic cruise on merrily at the top. Hamilton, in 10th, continue to sink like a stone.