It was a perfect afternoon for Celtic as they headed into the international break with a comfortable win against Kilmarnock.
Celtic started brightly and were rewarded for their dominant opening to proceedings as Sebastian Tounekti weaved his way through the Kilmarnock defence before Reo Hatate pounced on some slack defending from the visitors to set up Johnny Kenny, who tapped home to score his fourth goal in three games.
They soon picked up where they left off after half time as Kieran Tierney scored his first goal back in the green and white with a brilliant low-driven shot from 20-25 yards out to double their advantage.
Anthony Ralston felt he had good reason to be awarded a penalty in the closing stages of the second half but his protests were waved away by Don Robertson, who allowed the game to continue.
Any doubts over where the points were heading were then put to bed with five minutes to go as Daizen Maeda showed signs of his goalscoring prowess from last season with a neat finish into the corner, before Arne Engels then scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
It was a stress-free afternoon for Martin O’Neill’s side as they head into the international break with a win and now seven points behind Hearts with a game in hand.
Below, 67 Hail Hail rated the performance of each Celtic player against Kilmarnock.
Celtic player ratings vs Kilmarnock
Kasper Schmeichel – 6
Very little to do all afternoon. Could have easily gone into the stands and watched the game from there.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 6
A couple of misplaced passes early doors, probably due to nerves, but a solid performance overall on his Celtic debut.
Auston Trusty – 6
As simple as you like for the American international, who continues to impress since returning to the starting XI.
Liam Scales – 6
Like most weeks, Liam Scales was a rock at the back and didn’t let anything past him.
Marcelo Saracchi – 6
Had made a bright start but his evening was cut short due to a hamstring injury. Hopefully it is nothing serious.
Callum McGregor (C) – 7
A nice assist for Tierney’s goal and ran the midfield all afternoon. Did Kilmarnock not know that if you let Callum McGregor have time on the ball, he will control the entire game?
Reo Hatate – 6
Started for the first time under O’Neill and had some bright sparks, which included some passes that didn’t quite come off. There is still more to come from the midfielder, but signs of life after all is good.
Luke McCowan – 6
Had the odd chance in the first half, but didn’t really make much of an impact after that.
Daizen Maeda – 7
Made up for missing a great chance in the first half with a lovely well-taken goal towards the end of the game. Looked a lot like the Maeda of last season.
Johnny Kenny – 8
He can’t stop scoring right now and could have even had a second in the first half, but his header took a slight deflection. Love his work rate up and down the pitch.
Sebastian Tounekti – 7
Caused plenty of trouble for the Kilmarnock defenders in the first half and even when it didn’t pay off, didn’t give up and always tried to create something.
Substitutes
Kieran Tierney – 7
Filled in well for Saracchi and finally got the first goal of his second spell at the club. Delighted for the homegrown Bhoy!
Anthony Ralston – 6
Maybe should have had a penalty with around 10 minutes to go but he probably spent more time in the attacking positions than he did when defending.
Benjamin Nygren – 6
Was deployed on the right wing to accommodate Maeda down the middle and allowed the forward to get a lot more space by dragging the full-back out wide.
Arne Engels – 7
Played a brilliant through ball for Maeda to score Celtic’s third before he then got on the scoresheet himself by taking the penalty. A great impact.
Hyunjun Yang – 6
Won a penalty right at the death, but didn’t offer much else.
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