Celtic warmed up for their Champions League assault by moving two points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership after eventually breaking down a resilient Dundee at Parkhead.
All three goals came after the interval with David Turnbull’s penalty, Kyogo Furuhashi’s header and Matt O’Riley clever finish enough to put a frustrating first half to bed.
The visitors posed a decent attacking threat, with Hoops goalkeeper Joe Hart called into action to thwart Luke McCowan from point-blank range. Frontman Amadou Bakayoko also skied an effort over the crossbar from eight yards out in the closing stages.
Celtic appeared to find their groove after Turnbull’s opener and they now head into Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord in a positive mindset.
Here’s our Celtic player ratings following the 3-0:
Unused subs: Scott Bain (GK), Odin Thiago Holm, James Forrest, Anthony Ralston.
1. Celtic player ratings vs Dundee - gallery (GlaW)
Kyogo Furuhashi celebrate scoring Celtic’s second goal against Dundee.
2. Joe Hart - 8/10
Made a brilliant save to deny McCowan with a point-blank save after a quiet opening. Alert when called upon and silenced some of his critics.
3. Alistair Johnston - 7/10
A solid afternoon from the Canadian. Didn’t have a major influence on proceedings going forward but carried out his defensive duties with aplomb. Photo: Craig Williamson - SNS Group
4. Nathaniel Phillips - 7/10
Made his debut, the on-loan Liverpool centre-back was eager to impress and he was comfortable on the ball. A positive first showing in a Hoops shirt. Subbed at half-time. Photo: Paul Devlin - SNS Group