Magical Reo Hatate leads Celtic demolition of Aberdeen as Ange's men swagger into cup final - 3 Celtic talking points

Rampant Reo Hatate sprinkled magic across Parkhead as Celtic maintained their relentless Premiership pace.

The Japanese playmaker produced two swashbuckling goals as the hosts disposed of Aberdeen. Callum McGregor didn’t hang around this time to put the Dons to the sword. The captain had to wait until the final stages to hit the winner when the teams previously met just before Christmas in the Granite City.

But McGregor didn’t even need two minutes in Glasgow’s East End to set the champions on their way to yet another victory and lay the platform for Hatate to dazzle. The midfielder swayed from side to side to add a quickfire second for Ange Postecoglou’s men as they assumed command.

Hatate kept his best for next with the third after the interval. Having produced fantastic skill in the midfield to set an attack in motion, he followed up the play to pounce on a defensive slip and crack his second before sub Liel Abada rifled a fourth to seal a dominant day.

It was a rough day for the Reds. Interim boss Barry Robson and his side were staring down the barrel after their nightmare beginning. The Dons were able to stem the tide for a spell and not be completely overrun after their disastrous opening, but they failed to register a proper effort at Joe Hart and ended up thumped.

It was plain sailing for Postecoglou’s men as they geared up in style for next weekend’s Viaplay Cup Final against Rangers.

Celtic led inside two minutes after Greg Taylor’s cross from the left was headed to the edge of the box by Jonny Hayes. McGregor was first to the loose ball and drove a low finish which beat Jay Gorter, despite the keeper getting a hand on it.

Jota had pressured Hayes into that mistake and the Portuguese was causing mayhem in