Celtic put on quite the show at Rugby Park on Wednesday night, even drawing significant praise from opposition manager Derek McInnes.
A superb Adam Idah got the scoring underway before efforts from Daizen Maeda, James Forrest and Matt O’Riley rained down goals on Kilmarnock in a 5-0 victory for the Bhoys.
It was, of course, the night that Celtic sealed the Scottish Premiership title and that joy is stealing the headlines today. However, the quality of the performance itself shouldn’t be underrated.
Brendan Rodgers noted in the aftermath it looked like Celtic were just starting the season, not finishing it, such was their energy. It’s fantastic to see the team peaking at the most pivotal point of the campaign.
McInnes isn’t well known for dishing out extensive Celtic praise after he’s played the Bhoys, so it’s notable he was so unrestrained with his comments on his post-match media duties.
Derek McInnes delivers verdict on Celtic performance vs Kilmarnock
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Nobody’s done that to us this season. I think maybe just subconsciously the players are thinking the job’s done – when you’re playing against a team who have far more on it you can see that. I thought Celtic were terrific tonight in terms of their intensity and quality on the ball.
“Celtic had their tails up from early on and I thought they were very good. They would have been difficult to stop even if we were at our very, very best. We weren’t, clearly.”
In a separate press conference, he continued [Daily Record]: “It was the toughest 90 mins we’ve had to endure. That was partly us but congratulations to Celtic. I thought they’d have beaten any team in the league tonight, they were so strong.
“We’re always professional and give the best account of ourselves. They played with intensity and didn’t let us breathe.”
Celtic dominate at Rugby Park
The stats on the fixture are remarkable. Per FotMob, Celtic enjoyed 75% possession with 30 shots in total, 12 of which were on target. The xG was a mammoth 4.60, showing that the scoreline was justified by Celtic’s overall play.
The visitors were aggressive in their play off the ball, too, winning more tackles than Kilmarnock despite having the ball far more often. That set the tone for the team to perform in possession and they were cutting Killie apart at will in stages.
Celtic pushed over the title in style and it was so satisfying to witness. With the pressure off on Saturday, St Mirren could be the latest victims of a very confident team.
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