Celtic have won every league game they have played this season and on Wednesday night at Celtic Park they did not need the second half to beat Aberdeen. Three goals before the break, job finished, 3-0.
Camilo Duran got the first one. That is six in five matches for the Colombian since he arrived from Qarabag in the summer, and it was the sort of goal that makes a manager rethink his team sheet.
The 14th minute
Nothing was on. Duran collected a pass from Benjamin Nygren about 20 yards out with three defenders in front of him. Almost no backlift. The ball went in off the bar past Marius Muller before anyone in the away defence had adjusted their feet.
He should have had more. Muller made four saves from him in the first half alone, including one at close range in the 24th minute when Duran was clean through, and the striker fired over from a bouncing ball after Hyun-jun Yang had caused chaos in the box.
Nygren and Yang finish it
The second was scruffy. Nygren mishit his shot in the 34th minute and it somehow bobbled beyond Muller. Football is not always fair.
Then came the passage that summed up Aberdeen's night. Gavin Molloy headed against the bar from three yards out with the goal gaping at the end of first-half stoppage time. Seconds later Duran fed Yang, who made no mistake. 3-0 at the whistle.
Stephen Robinson made four changes at half time. Shim Mheuka, on loan from Chelsea, nearly scored with his first touch in the 77th minute before Muller denied him again.
O'Neill: 'Camilo's a star player'
Martin O'Neill did not hide his enthusiasm afterwards.
"We played very well with some really good goals. Camilo's a star player," he said. "Camilo set the tone for us, I think perhaps maybe all season he's done that. He's a really class player. I thought probably the big moment of the game was them hitting the bar with the header from the corner kick. It seemed pretty comfortable at the end."
The interesting bit is what happens when Kasper Hogh recovers from his thigh injury. Duran has been used on the wing before. Putting him back out there now, after six goals in five games as a central striker, would take some nerve.
Robinson takes the blame
The Aberdeen manager was hard on himself rather than his players.
"We got beat by a ruthless side. We made mistakes and got punished for them," Robinson said. "We didn't have the belief that we've shown in training. At 2-0, we hit the crossbar, and the fine lines in football, they go up the other end, we make a mistake, effectively the game's over.
"Our season won't be defined by getting beat by Celtic. Am I disappointed? Of course I am. I know the team are better than what they've showed. But it's up to me, it's my fault that they haven't got the belief to do what they did in the second half and be brave."
A busy week at Celtic Park
The win came in the middle of a frantic transfer period in which Celtic signed six players before the European deadline, including Sepp van den Berg, Jordan Lotomba, Mheuka and Chelsea left-back Landon Emenalo on loan. A move for Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis appears to have collapsed.
Perfect start, a striker in form, and a squad still growing. Rivals will not enjoy reading that.
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