Celtic go 16 ahead as Daizen dazzles and Engels shows true worth while fans on song with top patter – 3 talking points

Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate were on target in either half to seal a 2-0 win and send Celtic soaring 16 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership as Dundee United’s Parkhead hoodoo continued.

The Japan stars netted for the Hoops on a night when they were far more dominant than the narrow scoreline suggested, albeit the visitors enjoyed a lot more joy after the restart having been penned in for almost the entire opening 45 minutes.

It was sub zero temperatures and the game took time to warm up with Auston Trusty crashing a header off the crossbar from an Arne Engels corner - the same combination that led to the American netting his first goal agains St Mirren at the weekend.

The opener arrived midway through the first half and it was that man Maeda. Alistair Johnston’s ball into the box came off Yang - a last minute replacement for Nicolas Kuhn who dropped out of the XI - and fell to Luke McCowan. The midfielder’s effort was parried by Jack Walton into the path of Maeda and he despatched beyond the United keeper.

Celtic kept searching for more goals and the second arrived late on with Hatate on the scoresheet. Luis Palma's deep cross found Maeda and his pass was dummied by Paulo Bernardo for fellow sub Hatate to rifle home. The Hoops are now 16 points clear of nearest rivals Rangers, who take on Dundee on Thursday evening. Here’s three talking points from a freezing Parkhead...

The £11million club record fee has weighed heavily on Arne Engels since his summer move from Augsburg with many questioning it. Brendan Rodgers has tried to play down the pressure on the young midfielder but he really showed his quality here as he ran the show and the cash splashed could prove a snip on this kind of form.

His delivery