Celtic make Rangers their plaything as Rodgers' dominators silence Clement claim in derby romp – 5 talking points

Sizzling Celtic dismantled Rangers 3-0 to underline their status as the dominant force in Scottish football.

On a day when Rangers came out rocking, they left the east end limping as Daizen Maeda, Kyogo and Callum McGregor scored, James Forrest made 500 appearances and Brendan Rodgers bedded in £11m Arne Engels – the upper hand stretches from pitch to boardroom. Philippe Clement was left nursing a look of bemusement on a sobering afternoon and the days of nail-biting title races appear a distant memory on the basis of this encounter.

John Beaton beeped his whistle before the natives had even finished chanting 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and Robin Propper's header could have sparked silence if it wasn't so wayward. The bold and brave element of the high press from Rangers forced the champions into errors, not ones you're used to seeing, as Cyriel Dessers and Rabbi Matondo passed up gilt-edged opportunities but appeared offside.

However, the gung-ho nature of committing men forward brings its own risks and Celtic were the narrowest of offside calls from taking the lead as Nicolas Kuhn was flagged before he teed Kyogo up to finish a warp-speed counter-attack. But there would be no pardons in the 17th-minute when Maeda was on alert at the back stick to turn Alistair Johnston's outstretched cross and get one over James Tavernier once again.

Rangers' insistence to flood the middle was, at times, caused Celtic to go direct but the difference in quality was marked anytime those in green and white broke the traps set by their rivals. And Rangers had multiple players rendered frozen when Kyogo turned and tucked home past an unready and unsteady Jack Butland.

Celtic were able to turn it up anytime they wanted in the second half