CELTIC swept aside St Johnstone 3-0 at McDiarmid Park last night (Wednesday), with a trio of goals inside the opening half-hour.

The only disappointment of the evening was perhaps the fact the scoreline remained at just three, but, nevertheless, the Scottish champions retained their lead at the top of the Premiership with a dominant display from back to front.

Here, we look at five talking points from a dominant win in Perthshire.

TWO UP TOP
Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard have led the line together in three of Celtic’s four games of 2020 so far. In that time, they’ve paired well together, in and out of possession, and have looked more understanding of one another’s movements with each passing game. Both were integral in the build-up to yesterday evening’s opening goal, and playing with two at the top of the pitch stretched the St Johnstone backline, in turn allowing the Hoops’ central players more space to spread the ball from deeper areas. Griffiths, of course, grabbed the third of the night.

FINE FORREST
Having returned to action with an assist against Ross County last weekend following injury, James Forrest added another assist and another fine goal to his increasingly impressive tally for the season so far. In 37 appearances, the tireless midfielder has assisted on 18 occasions for his colleagues, and has hit the net 15 times. Compare that to last year’s 20-17 goals-to-assists ratio, and the 28-year-old is already well on-course to eclipse last season’s numbers.

TAYLOR TIME
Given the nod of the left flank, a battling Greg Taylor fought for every scrap down his side, while pairing well with Callum Mcgregor to his right and Leigh Griffiths in front. After crossing for the forward to no avail on 20 minutes, the two combined again, in almost identical fashion, to score the Hoops’ third goal of the evening. By playing in a 3-5-2 formation, Taylor was required to play further up the pitch than he’s otherwise used to, but handled himself with discipline and creative flair for 90 minutes.

OLLIE EST SUPERBE
We’ve said it several times in this column, but Olivier Ntcham’s vision and passing prowess is joy to behold. When he’s in the mood, and when he pops up with a goal – a header, at that – then all the better. The Frenchman makes the most intricate moves look so simple, as he covers every blade of grass in the middle and final thirds.

30 MINUTES TO WIN IT
With three goals in just 27 minutes, Celtic dazzled in the opening half-hour of last night's 3-0 win. A wonderfully worked header from Ntcham, a dynamite strike from Forrest, and a deft header from Griffiths put the match well out of sight with an hour left to play.

5 quick-fire talking points from dominant St Johnstone win