Celtic hammered St Johnstone to book their place in the Scottish Cup final.
Brendan Rodgers kept the same side that thumped Kilmarnock last week, with Hoops fans surprised to see James Forrest start.
The Bhoys an had excellent Scottish Cup semi-final record under Rodgers heading into the tie and confidence was in abundance, with Hugh Keevins claiming Celtic could win 8-0.
Whilst it wasn’t as many as that, Callum McGregor opened the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark, linking up well with Reo Hatate to move into double figures for the season.
One then became two very quickly as Daizen Maeda latched onto McGregor’s through ball as he added his 32nd goal of the season.
It was 3-0 just before the break at a sunny Hampden Park as Adam Idah was there to tap home into an empty net from Hatate’s cross before Maeda quickly doubled his number of goals for the day.
After a brief spell without any goals, the substitute duo of Jota and Nicolas Kuhn combined as the former connected with Kuhn’s cross from a tight angle to make it five.
With that, here’s how 67 Hail Hail rated the Celts’ individual performances against St Johnstone.
Celtic player ratings vs St Johnstone
Viljami Sinisalo – 7
Very little to do in-between the sticks once again for the Celtic ‘keeper, who could’ve quite comfortably joined the fans in the stand and still kept a clean sheet.
Alistair Johnston – 8
No defending as such to do but did well to provide extra threat up top and kept a clean sheet.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 8
Like Johnston, nothing to do from a defensive point of view. Tried another speculative shot from range but didn’t have a repeat of his Kilmarnock wonder strike.
Liam Scales – 8
Just like his defensive partners, little to do and helped restrict St Johnstone to a total of zero shots.
Greg Taylor – 8
A solid performance in the left-back slot. If he is to leave, there is the chance to depart off the back of another Treble-winning season.
Callum McGregor (C) – 9
He loves a goal in the Scottish Cup semi-finals under Rodgers and stepped up again. Looked Celtic’s biggest threat in the first half and also provided an assist. Leads by example and was the star of the show.
Reo Hatate – 8
Laid on two brilliant assists and looked like he was well up for it all afternoon. Would’ve been given a Man of the Match on any other day had it not been for the impact of McGregor.
Arne Engels – 6
Not as busy as his two midfield partners but still had some nice bits of play here and there.
James Forrest – 6
Had some bright spells but his involvement faded as time went on. Desperate for that first goal of the season.
Daizen Maeda – 8
The bagsman that he is, Daizen Maeda added his 32nd, yes 32nd, goal of the season. Had the St Johnstone backline under pressure all afternoon with his pace and pressing ability. A joy to watch in the green and white
Adam Idah – 6
The quietest of the three up front, but still managed to get on the scoresheet. Found himself in the right place at the right time for an easy tap-in, but didn’t offer much else throughout the game. Really needs to step up and show he deserves that starting number nine spot.
Celtic substitutes
- Jota – 7
- Nicolas Kuhn – 7
- Luke McCowan – 6
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