Clinical Celtic moved three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with what eventually proved a straightforward win over Hearts at Tynecastle.

After Aberdeen's first league loss of the season earlier on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers' side knew they could put daylight between themselves and the Dons for the first time this term with victory in the capital.

However, they started slowly and were fortunate to go in at half-time on level terms after Blair Spittal and Lawrence Shankland spurned golden chances to give Hearts the lead.

It was a different story after the break though and Kyogo Furuhashi's seventh goal of the season put Celtic in front at the second attempt after Craig Gordon initially saved when Daniel Oyegoke's clearance deflected into the Japanese striker's path.

A wonderful break and finish from Nicholas Kuhn doubled Celtic's advantage five minutes later and the result was never in doubt from that point onwards.

Adam Idah added a third after some tidy passing on the edge of the Hearts box despite the best efforts of goalkeeper Gordon.

Neil Critchley's side continued to show impressive industry, and were rewarded for their efforts when substitute Musa Drammeh grabbed a late consolation, beating Kasper Schmeichel from long range with a powerful drive.

Idah then made it four from the penalty spot in time added on after James Forrest was tripped by Jorge Grant, to cap an excellent second-half showing from his side.

Hearts stay 11th, just one point above city rivals Hibs at the foot of the table.

Although the sides went in level at half-time, it felt almost inevitable that Celtic would turn it on after the break, such are the standards Rodgers has set.

Kyogo was limited to just six touches in the opening period, but his first meaningful contribution of the match was to do what he does best, slotting home the opening goal after a sharp stop from Gordon.

Kuhn continued his wonderful season with a searing left-footed finish into the top corner on an evening where he oozed confidence and class.

Rodgers rung the changes from there and his squad's strength in depth was highlighted by the way they kicked on, not least with Idah's cameo.

The Irish striker has a knack for scoring goals and offers a totally different threat to Kyogo - having someone of his quality to call upon off the bench is a real luxury for Rodgers.

Celtic now take real momentum into Wednesday’s Champions League match against Club Brugge, as they look to continue their positive European campaign.

Critchley tweaked his system for the visit of the champions, dropping Kenneth Vargas in favour of another body in midfield, and it paid dividends early on.

Hearts pinched possession in dangerous areas, limited Celtic's chances to a minimum, and really should have gone into half-time with at least a one-goal lead.

Spittal appeared not to realise the space and time he had inside two minutes when he scuffed his effort into Schmeichel's grateful arms, and the industrious James Penrice carved out multiple opportunities down Hearts’ left flank.

He twice teed up Shankland, who shot tamely wide before heading straight at Schmeichel.

They were the type of chances the Scotland striker took without thinking last season, but he is a player clearly short of confidence after scoring just once in all competitions this term.

You sensed Hearts would be punished for their profligacy and so it proved. The first defensive lapse of any kind resulted in the opening goal and Critchley's side never truly recovered.

Still, Critchley will take some positives despite the scoreline, not least Drammeh, who displayed an eye for goal Hearts have sorely lacked in recent weeks.

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "We were excellent first half. Good organisation, good structure, pressed well and created some really good moments.

"You have to take your chances in these type of games, and we didn't. You also need an element of luck and they had it for the first goal. 4-1 looks like a drubbing but I didn't think it was a true reflection of the game.

"[Lawrence Shankland] put a real shift in, and he just needs one of those moments to go for him. He needs to stick at it, and we need to stick with him. He's contracted to the end of the season and when you see the way he plays tonight there's no reason to doubt his commitment to Hearts.

"We need to bounce back. We're in a relatively decent position in Europe and we need to go and improve if we want to get something on Thursday night [against Cercle Brugge]."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "I'm really pleased. Tynecastle is a really tough place so to win 4-1 was really pleasing.

"Second half, we figured out their press. They have normally been pressing in 4-4-2 but changed it slightly. It just meant we had to drop a man in our build-up play.

"We had some good moments in the first half, but once we were able to play through that pressure, I thought in the second half we were excellent.

"It's a very exciting period for us. All the players know they will play, they just need to be ready."