A Cillian Sheridan double helped Celtic to a convincing victory over Kilmarnock at Parkhead as the Hoops stretched their lead at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to four points over Rangers.
The 19-year-old Irish striker worked a neat one-two with Scott McDonald in the 18th minute before slotting past Killie keeper Alan Combe for his third goal of the season.
Celtic dominated thereafter and in the 75th minute Sheridan was on hand to knock the ball in to the roof of the net after Combe had spilled a long-range shot from Massimo Donati.
Hoops midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, returning from a knee injury, grabbed number three with six minutes remaining to give a true reflection of the home side's superiority.
With Rangers drawing 0-0 at Motherwell, it was a good night's work for Gordon Strachan's side, who did not really have to go through the gears against their Ayrshire opponents, who are still looking for their first win at Parkhead since 1955.
It was all rather straightforward as Celtic pressed from the first whistle and after some rather lame attempts, Sheridan fashioned the lead with a goal that belied his 19 years.
The gangly Irishman worked a fine one-two with McDonald and galloped through the heart of the Killie defence after taking the return before sliding the ball past Combe from inside the box.
The procession towards Combe grew in momentum and there were claims for a penalty when Killie midfielder James Fowler appeared to push Donati in the box but referee Mike Tumilty was unimpressed.
Seconds later, Nakamura's free-kick from 25 yards had Combe scrambling low to his left to gather before Shaun Maloney had an attempt from a similar range, which went yards wide.
On the half-hour mark, Rugby Park defender Gavin Skelton was booked for a foul on Nakamura which enraged the home support given the Japan international had been out since he was crocked against Killie a fortnight ago.
In a 33rd minute wake-up call for the Hoops, Mehdi Taouil nipped in as the home defence snoozed to send a drive from the edge of the penalty area inches past the post.
Three minutes after the break, McDonald raced away from the Killie defence and onto a searching Gary Caldwell pass before firing in a low drive from 16 yards which Combe turned away for a corner at his near post.
Killie survived Nakamura's whipped-in delivery but another period of backs-to-the-wall defending was under way.
In the 53rd minute, Nakamura became the next Celtic player to try his luck after taking an Andreas Hinkel pass. The Japanese midfielder, however, drove wide from the edge of the box.
But there was a flatness rather than an excitement about the home side's superiority with the Celtic fans, whose numbers combined with their Killie counterparts fell far below the official crowd of 55,347, occasionally venting their agitation at their side's inability to kill the game off.
In the 67th minute, after Manuel Pascali was booked for a foul on Sheridan 30 yards from goal, Nakamura blazed over the bar.
While Kilmarnock's strategy was clearly damage-limitation, at only one goal down there was always the outside chance of an equaliser.
However, that remote possibility was quashed in the 75th minute when Combe spilled Donati's long-range drive allowing Sheridan, first to the rebound, to scoop the ball in to the roof of the net.
Georgios Samaras was given a huge cheer when he replaced McDonald and Koki Mizuno came on for Maloney with seven minutes remaining but it was Nakamura who notched the third in the 84th minute when he took a Scott Brown pass before driving high past Combe.
