CELTIC 6 DUNDEE 0: Relentless Bhoys show that there's life after Kyogo

Thirteen points clear at the top of the table. The League Cup under lock and key. A decent shot at the Treble to come and progress in Europe confirmed. Everybody happy at Parkhead? Absolutely. Funny what a scintillating performance can do to ensure the disappointment at failing to land a replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi doesn’t linger. Even before Celtic engaged top gear here, there were surprisingly few rumblings of discontent about what the final day of the window had brought, or rather, hadn’t.

Just like Brendan Rodgers, it seems that few here are prepared to let a regrettable matter kill their joy. Life goes on. And even with the side’s talisman now with Rennes, it’s pretty clear that Celtic will remain a formidable force without him. On point in everything they did here, Celtic eased to a victory every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. Arne Engels opens the scoring from the penalty spot after Sylla's joust with Trusty in the box.

Maeda scores Celtic's third with a fine headed finish at the back post. Adam Idah lashes the ball into the net in delight as Maeda prepares to celebrate his goal. Furuhashi may have taken his leave of this place. Barring an unimaginable collapse, the Premiership trophy will not be following him out the door come May. Rodgers’ side simply had too many players on song for Dundee to even contemplate recording their first win in this fixture in 46 attempts.

Instead they lurched to consecutive 6-0 defeats after Hearts hammered them by the same scoreline last Saturday. Arne Engels got things moving with a clinically struck penalty and scored a peach late on just before Nicolas Kuhn did likewise. Adam Idah netted his fourth goal in three games. As at Fir Park last Sunday, though, the Irishman had his thunder stolen by others. For a player who’s supposedly short on match fitness, Jota put on a quite a show. Deployed on his preferred left side, he tormented Dundee’s defenders with his flicks, backheels and tricks. He provided two assists and regal entertainment. It was quite the homecoming.

Rodgers has stated that he believes the Portuguese will be an even bigger asset to Celtic second time around when he gets up to speed. On this evidence, you would not doubt him. Maeda swapped ranks to accommodate Jota and still managed to deliver another outstanding display which saw his goal tally for the season rise to 18. His chipped finish for Celtic’s fourth was nothing short of majestic. With his compatriot now in France, he’s got a huge part to play in the remainder of this season. How Celtic will miss the suspended Maeda when Bayern Munich come to town next week.

Engels scored Celtic's fifth with a spectacular effort to round off a fine evening's work. Maeda hails Jota after the returning Celtic winger's cross had set him up for Celtic's third. This was a fine night for Celtic. Jeffrey Schlupp was able to make his debut from the bench with the side five goals up and still looking for more. There was never any suggestion of Rodgers wrapping main striker Idah in cotton wool. The Irishman was supported by Maeda and Jota, a first start for the Portuguese in his second spell at the club seeing Kuhn benched.

You could never have accused Dundee of loading the sandbags here. Set up with two strikers in Simon Murray and Seun Adewumi, they fed them as early as possible. and initially asked plenty questions of Celtic’s central defenders. The home side still fashioned enough early chances to satisfy their manager. Trevor Carson reacted smartly to prevent Reo Hatate’s whipped cross being swept home at the far post by Maeda.

Alistair Johnston saw an ambitious volley flash over. Hatate then sent an ambitious curler just wide. Jota was taken off after little more than an hour but his efforts had clearly pleased Rodgers. The build up to the opener was a strange episode. Referee Colin Steven had an unobstructed view of Auston Trusty’s joust with Mohamad Sylla as they contested Engels’ corner. He immediately awarded a foul to the Dundee man.

VAR on the night Alan Muir took a different view. Having suggested the referee review the incident on the pitch side monitor, Steven pointed to the spot then flashed a yellow card at Sylla. Engels had broken his successful penalty run against Young Boys when his strike from 12 yards was saved. He changed his approach here, racing to the ball with a short run up and powerfully finding the bottom left corner.

Although Celtic continued to dominate proceedings, the Dark Blues dug in and made life difficult for a spell. Their three central defenders - Ryan Astley, Antonio Portales and Aaron Donnelly - remained alert and blocked cross after cross. On one of the rare occasions that a delivery escaped them, Jota was not quite on the same page as Idah as he tried to drift onto the Irishman’s cross. Adam Idah puts Celtic two ahead on the brink of half-time to tee up a relaxed second period.