Scottish PremiershipSaturday, April 12, 2025Celtic Park CELTIC… 5(Hatate 8, 24, Maeda 10, Carter-Vickers 20, Ralston, 90+2) KILMARNOCK… 1(Armstrong 29) Celtic returned to winning ways in style with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock. Goals from Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Anthony Ralston and a double from Reo Hatate delivered three points for the Hoops, and the win puts Brendan Rodgers’ side on the verge of securing a fourth consecutive Premiership title. It could be argued that the game was over after just 10 minutes as Celtic produced a blistering opening which saw them score twice, first through Reo Hatate and then Daizen Maeda. The opening goal was a thing of beauty as Hatate combined with Greg Taylor before firing an unstoppable shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. Just two minutes later, Brendan Rodgers’ side doubled their lead as Maeda scored his 31st goal of the season. Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston combined well down the right-hand side, with the latter firing a low ball into the six-yard box. It landed at the feet of Maeda at the back post and he tapped it in to make it 2-0. Celtic were carving Kilmarnock open at will, and Liam Scales had a 20-yard effort well saved by Kieran O’Hara. However, there was nothing the Killie keeper could do in the 20th minute when Cameron Carter-Vickers unleashed a 25-yard shot from the inside-right area that flew into the top corner. Four minutes later, Reo Hatate scored his second of the afternoon following some great interplay between Engels, Johnston and James Forrest, with the Canadian again the provider. Hatate kept his composure inside the area to steer the ball home and make it 4-0 to Celtic. Just before the half-hour mark, the visitors did reduce the deficit when Danny Armstrong curled in a shot from the edge of the box that evaded Viljami Sinisalo. Celtic thought they’d scored a fifth goal just before the break when Daizen Maeda had the ball in the back of the net following some great play involving Adam Idah and Reo Hatate, but a VAR review ruled the goal out due to the Irish striker being in an offside position when he received the ball.Celtic continued to dominate the game after the break without creating as many clear-cut chances. Indeed, it took until just after the hour mark before substitute Nicolas Kuhn tried his luck with a shot that was blocked. Kilmarnock, who offered little in an attacking sense, did create a chance on 66 minutes from a long throw-in, but Fraser Murray’s effort from inside the area was high and white. With just under 15 minutes remaining, Arne Engels curled an effort towards goal from inside the box, but the crossbar came to Kilmarnock’s rescue and the ball was cleared. The Hoops continued to push forward in search of a fifth goal, and late in the game, Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate combined well, but the latter, in search of a hat-trick, couldn’t direct his effort on target. However, there was still time for a fifth goal as Anthony Ralston, on as a late substitute for Alistair Johnston, showed great footwork inside the area to fire a low shot into the net and make it 5-1 to the Hoops. Celtic will put their own league efforts to one side now as they begin preparations for next Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden against St Johnstone, although depending on tomorrow’s result at PIttodrie, there may yet be a cause for celebration.
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