SCINTILLATING Celtic moved top of the Ladbrokes Premiership with a 4-1 dismantling of Hamilton at the SuperSeal stadium.
Returning midfielder Stuart Armstrong opened the scoring in the 17th minute before attacker Scott Sinclair fired two in before the interval.
Debutant Odsonne Edouard added a fourth to accentuate consolation the gulf in class between the two teams although Accies substitute Alex Gogic, on for Dougie Imrie, headed in a late consolation.
Brendan Rodgers men go one point ahead of Aberdeen, who play Hearts at Murrayfield today.
It was a perfect warm-up for Celtic’s Champions League opener against Paris Saint-Germain at Parkhead on Tuesday night, where they will come in for a much stiffer test than the one presented by the outclassed Lanarkshire side in what was their 4000th league game.
With strikers Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele out injured – both could be back for the game against Paris Saint-Germain – Rodgers gave a debut to 19-year-old French forward Edouard, who is on a season-long loan from from the French side.
In an attack-minded 3-4-3 line-up, 20-year-old winger Patrick Roberts, back at the Parkhead club for a second loan spell from Manchester City, was also included with defender Jozo Simunovic and midfielders Armstrong and Callum McGregor back in the team.
The Hoops took control of the game from the first whistle and came close in the eighth minute when James Forrest’s cross from right found Sinclair and his drive was blocked by Accies keeper Gary Woods.
Hamilton were continuously pressed back but could only hold out until the 17th minute when, after a McGregor drive had been blocked, Armstrong picked up the ball and eased into the box before curling a right-footed shot from 16 yards past Woods and into the far corner.
The visitors’ second goal came in the 29th minute after Edouard drove at pace towards the Hamilton box only to be tackled by left-back Scott McMann but the ball broke kindly to the supporting Sinclair and he curled it past the despairing Woods.
Moments later, Parkhead keeper Craig Gordon made a decent save from midfielder Ali Crawford’s but it was only a blip in Celtic’s dominance, demonstrated again when Sinclair hammered in number three from an angle around two minutes before the break.
Celtic, slick and assured, kept pressing and in the 64th minute Edouard worked a one-two with Roberts at the edge of the box before going on to slip the ball low past Woods from 12 yards.
With a nod towards Tuesday, Rodgers replaced Roberts and Armstrong with Jonny Hayes and Oliver Ntcham which gave the visitors added energy for the final stages, with Nir Bitton coming on for Simunovic, but it was Gogic who finished the scoring when he headed in a Crawford corner with four minutes remaining.
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