Celtic

Tony Haggerty's detailed player ratings after the Premiership victory over St Johnstone.

Matt O'Riley (for Tom Rogic, 46): The Denmark Under-21s midfielder came on for Tom Rogic at the break and it was his eye for the clever pass that saw Hatate upended for the penalty incident that brought about the fourth goal. Daizen Maeda: The Japanese forward has an incredible work-rate and he guided Jota's cross into the net quite superbly with his head for the third goal and the seventh of his Celtic career. He only got 45 here but it was his dancing feet and fantastic skill that saw him drift into the box in 13 minutes but he succeeded in only toe-poking the ball off Clark's legs when he ought to have made it 2-0 and he made way for Matt O'Riley at the break. It was his cute lay-off to Hatate that opened up the space for the Japanese midfielder to net the first after just eight minutes. He seemed to enjoy the extra responsibility and acted as a playmaker at times by striding forward and setting up attacks. He loves to gallop forward and he gets up and down the right-hand side at will.

A 7-0 thrashing of St Johnstone, on a day that Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi returned to action for the first time since Boxing Day following his recovery from ...

The Japanese forward returned from a long injury lay-off on Saturday as the league leaders hammered St Johnstone.

Hopefully it’s not something that keeps him out too long in the run-in.” “We will keep doing what we are doing. “It’s disappointing. And a super footballer. We have five games to play and what we keep talking about is that we want to keep playing our best football and try to peak which was always our goal for this time of the year. “We needed to start well and like a lot of games we were on top early but it was good to see us keep going.

Ange Postecoglou's side romped to another three points which pulls them nine clear of Rangers at the Premiership summit.

And that wasn't lost on the home crowd as they rose to their feet in unison for the forward's second-half return - a timely one considering the injury to Giakoumakis. It's been a torrid few months for the Japan international, who's had to watch on from the sidelines as his team-mates pulled clear in the title race, no doubt desperate to play his part. On came Kyogo to a standing ovation and his first contribution was to loft a delightful ball in behind for Maeda. Celtic's passing was crisp and they worked their way into the Saints box for O'Riley to shuffle into a half-yard and lash into the top corner. But there was no let up in the pressure and when Hatate went tumbling under a tackle in the area, Juranovic stepped up to notch his third league penalty of the campaign. That change meant Maeda was stood exactly where Giakoumakis would've when Jota swung a cross in from the left for the Japanese to head in a third.

Ange Postecoglou's men can stretch their lead at the top of the Premiership to nine points when they take on St Johnstone.

Celtic have been ruthless in the first 45 minutes. GOAL! Celtic 3 St Johnstone 0 Liel Abada unleashes a shot from 25-yards out and it's narrowly wide. GOAL! Celtic 5 St Johnstone 0 GOAL! Celtic 6 St Johnstone 0 GOAL! Celtic 7 St Johnstone 0

Match report as Celtic extend lead over Rangers to nine points in Scottish Premiership table with 7-0 win over St Johnstone at Celtic Park; Reo Hatate, ...

"Today we were just beaten by the better team, it's as simple as that. When we do that we have the quality in the team to blow teams away like we did today." When we didn't have the ball we were determined to get it back. Take away today's game and we've been in good form, on a winning streak. "We have a lot of contributors, which mean our training levels are at the best they have been all year. A second goal seemed inevitable, but the McDiarmid Park men gave Celtic a helping hand.

Ange Postecoglou's Celtic have soared to fresh heights with a 7-0 win over St Johnstone, the Hoops' biggest victory under their Australian manager.

And it was good to see we finished it off in the second half as well.” That helps maintain the impetus and the momentum we have. Postecoglou was particularly impressed with the way his team kept their foot on the accelerator in the second half, saying: “We said at halftime, it’s a game we could have probably seen it out pretty comfortably like we have in other games. It helps when we can put in some quality from the bench as well. I thought we were on it from the start. Reo Hatate opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Giorgos Giakoumakis intercepted a poor back-pass to round the keper and score the second.

A 7-0 thrashing of St Johnstone, on a day that Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi returned to action for the first time since Boxing Day following his recovery from ...

Match report and highlights as Celtic extend lead over Rangers to nine points in Scottish Premiership table with 7-0 win over St Johnstone at Celtic Park; ...

"Today we were just beaten by the better team, it's as simple as that. When we do that we have the quality in the team to blow teams away like we did today." When we didn't have the ball we were determined to get it back. Take away today's game and we've been in good form, on a winning streak. "We have a lot of contributors, which mean our training levels are at the best they have been all year. A second goal seemed inevitable, but the McDiarmid Park men gave Celtic a helping hand.

The forward was jeered by a section of home fans at Parkhead during his final appearance in a friendly against West Ham last summer.

“People will always say that I took the p**s and this and that but all I wanted to do was work hard. “If I was playing at home I was going to be booed by my own fans and the away fans. The next chapter in the most colourful of careers is still to be written. He said: “I am scared. I spoke to people at Celtic and the other people involved in the entire investigation process. I left that game, climbed into the car and drove back home. It sounds strange but I can’t be a player who is booed both home and away. I had to come back and do a mini pre-season. “That’s Scottish football in a nutshell. “It was established that I hadn’t done anything wrong. He said: “I did leave Celtic with regrets about the way it all ended. “My reply is this: Just let me go out and play football.

Celtic Park's DJ used to play the Magnificent Seven theme regularly, and had just cause to give it another spin on Saturday against St Johnstone.

Judging by the way he was retrieving the ball deep beyond the 80th minute he probably still had the stamina for the 7km Aintree course. In a performance that provided so much, including a rare James McCarthy appearance, something was lost. The pre-billed return of Kyogo Furuhashi received the biggest cheer of several on Saturday afternoon.

Celtic will be without Giorgos Giakoumakis when they face Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

He didn’t think it was too bad but he could feel something. Sadly, there is no chance that he will now be fit to face Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals next Sunday. Giorgos Giakoumakis found the net for the 13th time early in the clash on Saturday but shortly after he found himself back in the dressing room, limping off injured.

Like many in the current Celtic squad, Carl Starfelt's career has been reinvigorated by manager Ange Postecoglou.

"It was normal that we didn't play our best at the beginning of the season,” admitted Starfelt. “We brought a lot of new players in and some of them didn't get a pre-season. I also feel that he believes in me a lot, I'm really happy about that." Starfelt is part of a Celtic team in the driving seat for the cinch Premiership title and a shot at a domestic treble.

Celtic have taken another step towards winning the Scottish Premiership with a 7-0 demolition of St Johnstone on Sunday morning (AEST).

We knew it was a dangerous game - they have been in good form. The players want to create something special for themselves and they're not going to let it go now. It was important we started well.

Leigh Griffiths has admitted he was blown away by Ange Postecoglou – despite the Aussie being the man who decided his Celtic career was over.

“If I was playing at home I was going to be booed by my own fans and the away fans. I left that game, climbed into the car and drove back home. “It was established that I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Japan's Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda both score as Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic trounce St. Johnstone 7-0, while Kyogo Furuhashi makes his return for ...

"I did well to sneak in behind the defenders. That was exactly what I was aiming to do and it paid off," he said. Hatate neatly swept home an eighth-minute opener, his left-footed effort finding the right bottom corner from inside the box, and Maeda made it 3-0 with a header off Jota's cross from the left in the 36th minute at Celtic Park.

Ange Postecoglou's side are nine points clear in the title race as they look to wrestle the trophy away from the defending champions.

Celtic moved nine points clear at the top of the table on Saturday with a stellar 7-0 win over St Johnstone at Parkhead. And it's understood Ange Postecoglou and Giovanni van Bronckhorst will meet again at Celtic Park in the next round of league games. The final stages of the campaign were teed up on Saturday as the top and bottom six were confirmed on a dramatic afternoon.

Leigh Griffiths has admitted he was blown away by Ange Postecoglou – despite the Aussie being the man who decided his Celtic career was over.

“If I was playing at home I was going to be booed by my own fans and the away fans. I left that game, climbed into the car and drove back home. “It was established that I hadn’t done anything wrong.

The 27-year-old Japan international received a rapturous ovation as he returned during the 7-0 romp over St Johnstone.

“There were a couple of times when I tried to thread the ball through to him and his positioning was top class. For a midfielder he’s the perfect person to have in front of you. The Danish U21 international said: “I’ve only trained with Kyogo a couple of times and I could see he’s a really top player.