Kilmarnock 0-5 Celtic: Visitors run riot to keep up 100% start
- Published
Moritz Jenz fires in one of two acrobatic Celtic finishes during their victory
Celtic ran riot at Rugby Park as they swatted Kilmarnock aside to continue their unbeaten start in the Scottish Premiership.
Kyogo Furuhashi netted an early opener before Jota's 30-yard screamer and Mortiz Jenz's acrobatic effort made it three by the break.
Carl Starfelt then scored his first Celtic goal, with Georgios Giakoumakis' overhead kick completing the rout.
Celtic are now 35 games unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership.
Meanwhile, Kilmarnock are still looking for their first win back in the top flight.
Ange Postecoglou said he felt no need to change the side which ended up winning at Ross County last weekend.
His decision was justified within seven minutes as Greg Taylor - looking increasingly comfortable as Celtic's first-choice left-back - slipped in Daizen Maeda. He cut back to the onrushing Kyogo, who finished a straightforward move off the post.
Jota got the second, firing spectacularly into the top corner from distance - although there was a question mark over whether Killie keeper Sam Walker could have done better.
There wasn't much he could do about the third though. Gathering a cleared corner, Callum McGregor fired the ball towards goal. It fell kindly to Jenz, who swivelled and hooked the ball over his shoulder to get his second Celtic goal in as many weeks.
It took the visitors longer to find their fourth, with Kilmarnock content to let the game fizzle out in the second half. That wasn't to be though, as Walker's save from a Celtic corner allowed Starfelt to prod home.
If there was debate about whether Jenz's goal was an overhead kick, there was none about Giakoumakis' effort. A crossed ball looped into the sky, the Greek striker watched it on to his foot and bicycle-kicked it through the legs of Walker for a classy fifth.
Man of the Match - Jota
Take your pick. It really could have been anyone in green and white.
Celtic look unstoppable as Killie cut to ribbons
There's still a mighty long way to go this season, but Celtic have started in a fashion that will leave Postecoglou confident of retaining the title.
They were relentless at times, pinning Kilmarnock into their own 18-yard box and toying with them like a cat with a ball of string.
Of course, they are yet to face the test of two games a week, but that will start with the Champions League group stage in September. However, the depth they had on the bench this afternoon suggests rotation isn't the threat it used to be.
It was an ominous message for the other teams in the league. Derek McInnes changed Kilmarnock's formation to try and match Celtic in a 4-3-3. It simply didn't work as individually Celtic's stars showed too much quality in finding and creating space for themselves.
What they said
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes: "We talked about the importance of the start of the game. I do think that first goal is self-inflicted. It felt like a gimme, and it lifts them. You don't need to give them any encouragement to play their football.
"Celtic controlled the game as we expected but when the ball arrived in our box, it was nothing to do with their level of player. It was the type of goal we shouldn't be losing and three or four of the goals are avoidable."
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "We just wanted the intent of playing our football and not letting these things stop us. Obviously there were times we couldn't do it as fluently as we'd like but the boys' attitude was first rate.
"In all our games so far, the subs have made a massive impact and that's something we need to keep up. We've got the luxury of one game a week at the moment but pretty soon that won't be the case and we need more than 11 players to be ready to go."
What's next?
Celtic host Hearts next Sunday, while Kilmarnock travel to Ross County the day before, with both sides in search for their first league win (both 15:00 BST).