Celtic kick off Scottish title defence with resounding Kilmarnock win

Celtic kickstarted their Scottish Premiership title defence with a resounding 4-0 win over Kilmarnock.

Scorers: Hatate 17′, Scales 40′, Kühn 60′, Ralston 90+4′

Kyogo Furuhashi had the reigning champions’ first opening as he hooked the ball over Roby McCrorie but saw his effort hooked off the line by Lewis Mayo.

Barely a minute later, Reo Hatate broke the deadlock with a sweeping finish from just inside the penalty area after being teed up by Greg Taylor.

The Bhoys’ dominance was further rewarded shortly before half-time as Liam Scales headed home an out-swinging cross from Matt O’Riley.

Hatate flashed their next warning shot after the interval at Celtic Park with an effort which trickled narrowly wide of McCrorie’s right-hand post.

Nicolas Kühn added a third for Brendan Rodgers’ side on the hour mark by cutting inside and turning the ball home via a Mayo deflection.

Deep in added time, substitute Anthony Ralston rounded off the rout by slotting from the far post to send Celtic back to the summit after their opening game.