Celtic stay nine clear after beating Livingston

Ange Postecoglou's side blitzed their visitors in the first half, with Greg Taylor netting the first with a sweet strike across the deck and Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi both converting one of a plethora of chances.

The onslaught eased after the break but Celtic strolled to victory, with Livingston's only real threat coming when Bruce Anderson struck the woodwork from an acute angle.

Celtic absolutely smothered their visitors. This was a fantastic, unrelenting display, particularly first half, which ought to have brought more goals.

Livingston struggled to hold any possession at all, never mind creep up the pitch to threaten other than one moment in the first half.

It was a one-way street for Celtic, a direct result of them dominating the ball but winning it back instantaneously if they lost it. That was rare.

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The first threat came when Jota tried to thread the ball in front of the onrushing Kyogo, but the ball carried a touch too much weight.

The Portuguese winger then somehow contrived to miss from a few yards when Maeda showed brilliant pace and poise to flash the ball across the six-yard box but there was no connection with the goal gaping.

Just when you thought Livingston were about to frustrate their hosts, Reo Hatate gathered in the box, laid it back to the onrushing Taylor, in a now familiar advanced inside-left position, and he fired across Shamal George into the corner.

The second followed quickly. Livingston just could not get a decisive clearance and when they finally tried one, the ball cannoned off the onrushing Maeda and home. His persistence paid off and Celtic were off and running.

Livingston did manage one scare on the almost anonymous Joe Hart's goal when Anderson seized on a slip, but his shot cracked a post and the follow up fell wide. There ended Livingston's threat and any hope of a revival.

Celtic's third was as simple as inevitable. Matt O'Riley launched an accurate ball upfield for Kyogo. He had Jack Fitzwater for company, but bobbed and weaved towards the box before placing his 21st goal of the season into the net.

The second half was a procession that lacked the killer touch with Celtic constantly probing and Livingston staying stoic in adversity.

They held firm to stop more damage with the result determined in the opening 45.

Player of the match - Daizen Maeda

Dominant Celtic suffocate Livingston - analysis

Postecoglou has been suggesting again of late that he wants his side to finish the season even stronger, something he demanded last term. He is getting a response to that expectation once again.

Celtic were utterly dominant. They went at Livingston from the first and, despite taking longer than expected to break through, the outcome never seemed in doubt. It could and should have been a much greater margin.

Livingston were well organised but lacked threat other than their only glaring chance which passed them by and their hopes went with it. They'll look to get back to the form they had coming in to this having been unbeaten in 2023.

Celtic's domestic consistency is frightening. No league home losses under Postecoglou since his arrival and an unbeaten, almost exclusively winning, run since the loss to St Mirren in September has them motoring nicely towards the title.

What they said

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "We started the game really well, we knew we would have a lot of possession but it was what we did with it and I thought we were always probing and asking questions.

"Second half, Livingston didn't really open up so it wasn't like we were going to get bags of chances. I still thought we controlled it well, we just never got the goal."

Livingston manager David Martindale: "I was disappointed to go in 3-0 down at half-time, because other than the first one, I thought they were avoidable goals, but you have to credit Celtic, they put us under huge pressure.

"Ange has his team playing some very, very nice football. They are good on the eye, it must be a good time to be a Celtic fan right now."

What's next?

With 14 league games remaining, Celtic travel to St Johnstone on Sunday (12:00 GMT) looking to take another step towards retaining their title. Livingston host Kilmarnock the previous day (15:00) looking to cement their top-six position.