Celtic 5-1 Motherwell
- Published
Odsonne Edouard scored a hat-trick as Celtic beat Motherwell to extend their unbeaten domestic run to 67 matches.
The French striker tapped home a Scott Sinclair cutback before unleashing a brilliant shot into the corner.
Tom Rogic had a goal disallowed before the interval, and Elliott Frear's goal briefly threatened a Motherwell rally.
But substitute James Forrest trickled a shot into the far corner before Edouard pounced on a Cedric Kipre mistake and Forrest fired home a superb fifth goal.
Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to seven points, with second-placed Aberdeen hosting Rangers on Sunday. Motherwell remain fifth, five points ahead of Hearts.
James Forrest continued his excellent form this season with a double
The only downside ahead of Tuesday's final Champions League group game against Anderlecht was an injury concern over Scott Sinclair, who appeared to twist his ankle when he landed heavily on it in the second half.
Brendan Rodgers made a total of six changes for the sides' third meeting in this week-long trilogy, with Eduardo leading the line against a Motherwell side who had made things tricky for the champions in the two previous encounters.
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson said before the game he wanted to move on from the penalty controversies of the past week and focus on becoming the first team to beat Celtic at Celtic Park in two years - a Louis Moult double gave Motherwell that honour back in 2015.
Any questions about the wholesale changes upsetting Celtic's rhythm were quickly and emphatically answered when the home side took the lead.
Sinclair terrorised Motherwell right-back Richard Tait before swinging in an inch-perfect cross that Edouard slotted home with ease inside the six-yard box.
It came just five minutes after Chris Cadden curled an effort just wide at the other end, but in truth, Motherwell looked like a side lacking the intensity of the week's previous two battles.
Edouard made the most of a rare start in the absence of Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths
It didn't help that they were up against a group of Celtic fringe players desperate to impress and after 33 minutes, Edouard did just that by gabbing his second.
He picked the ball up in a central area just outside the Motherwell box and after outfoxing two visiting defenders, the 19-year-old on loan from Paris Saint-German fired a sumptuous low shot into Carson's right-hand corner.
If felt like game over already, but these games wouldn't be the same without some controversy and it came shortly before the break when Tom Rogic thought he'd scored only for it to be chalked off.
The Australian midfielder looked offside as he ran on to an Olivier Ntcham through-ball, but the flag stayed down as the Celtic players wheeled away to celebrate.
But referee Kevin Clancy was called over by his near-side assistant Stuart Stevenson, who decided Rogic was offside after all - no goal.
There was no let-up in the home side's intensity after the break and after Odsonne almost headed in, Mikael Lustig had a fierce volley on the angle parried away by a very busy Trevor Carson.
The Motherwell goalkeeper was forced into another stop 10 minutes later when Ntcham guided a ferocious shot over the wall from a free-kick 25 yards out.
But substitute Frear gave the visitors some hope, turning the ball past Craig Gordon from close range after a Tait cross and a mix-up in the Celtic defence.
Elliott Frear pulled a goal back for the Steelmen but Celtic scored another three
Could Motherwell find a way back after looking completely out of puff?
No.
Substitute Forrest cut in from the right-hand side and slotted a low shot past Carson before Edouard completed his hat-trick from close range after Tait attempted a header back to Carson.
Forrest completed the rout with a sublime strike with the outside of his right foot from just inside the box.