Heart of Midlothian 1-4 Celtic: Visitors restore seven-point lead with comfortable win
- Published
Matt O'Riley crashed in a sensational volley after just four minutes
Brendan Rodgers was delighted as Celtic's rapid opening silenced Tynecastle on their way to a comfortable victory over Hearts that restored a seven-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The home team and often raucous fans were deflated when Matt O'Riley cracked in a superb opener after four minutes, then Daizen Maeda added a close-range finish.
Reo Hatate hit the post with a second-half penalty before Kyogo Furuhashi continued his knack of scoring against Hearts.
Lawrence Shankland found his first goal since August but Celtic regained their three-goal advantage in a one-sided contest thanks to a fierce Tomoki Iwata strike.
"We needed to start with an energy that would make things difficult for Hearts because this is a place where the crowd really get behind them if they start well," said Celtic boss Rodgers.
"Coming to grounds like this is when you find out if you're a good team or not because you will have difficult moments, but the players dealt with it really well. That was probably as quiet as I've heard it here."
For the champions it was a 10th successive win over Hearts in all competitions, with the Edinburgh side staying in fourth place, despite winning just three of their nine outings.
O'Riley has been in storming form this season and did not take long to make his mark. Coming in from the left, Luis Palma dinked the ball over the top of the Hearts defence and the 22-year-old let it drop over his shoulder before steering a sweetly-struck volley into the far corner of the net.
Kenneth Vargas and Maeda traded shots before the latter doubled Celtic's lead. Hatate drilled the ball across the face of goal and his Japan team-mate had the simple job of nudging it home.
The second half was just 12 seconds old when Alex Cochrane was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Kyogo. However, Hatate cracked the spot-kick against the base of the post.
The miss did nothing to affect Hatate's confidence as he sent a sumptuous flick into the path of the galloping Palma and seconds later Kyogo was lashing the ball high into the net from six yards to stretch his scoring run against Hearts to eight games.
There were already a lot of empty seats in the home stands when Shankland curled in a lovely finish from the edge of the penalty area, profiting from a bad Maeda touch.
The hosts had 25 minutes to salvage something and the introduction of Liam Boyce added a bit of bite to their attack, but Celtic were next to strike as Iwata crashed in his first goal for the club.
The visitors were first to the ball each time in a series of near things before the substitute thundered a shot off the underside of the crossbar.
Celtic remain unbeaten in the league, winning each of their opening five away matches, something no team has done since 2017-18 during Rodgers' first spell in charge.
Player of the match - Matt O'Riley
Midfield colleagues Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate caught the eye but O'Riley edges it with a fantastic first-half display and the stunning opening goal
Celtic in cruise control - analysis
Celtic were in complete command from the moment O'Riley's sixth goal of the season flew in.
The champions' slick passing and speed of thought was too much for Hearts, who were very meek in the first half.
Calem Nieuwenhof and Cammy Devlin were overrun in the middle of the park as O'Riley combined well with Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate. Those three are streets ahead of anything else the division has to offer in the engine room.
And the bad news for the rest is that Hatate and Kyogo are yet to hit the heights they did last season.
What they said
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "Today is not a good day in terms of our progression.
"We created our own downfall. The goals are really sloppy. Then we get into good positions but our final ball lets us down.
"Throughout the season we've been a bit more solid, but these small moments are costing us. We need to rectify it."
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "When we miss the penalty, the stadium gets a lift but we worked through it to get the third goal.
"The players are finding their feet. Celtic is a team that always has to win, but you need to do that in a certain style. That comes with development.
"There are areas where we can improve. When we get to 3-1 and 4-1, we can manage the ball a bit better and maybe be more clinical."
What next?
Celtic face a significant step up in opposition, with Atletico Madrid in Glasgow for Champions League duty on Wednesday (20:00 BST). Having been swept aside by the leaders, Hearts visit second-placed Rangers next Sunday (15:00).