Celtic have all but secured the Scottish Premiership title with an emphatic 5-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park this evening.
The home side looked sharp from the start as Emilio Izaguirre picked out Leigh Griffiths with a cross into the area, but the striker could only turn it wide from a few yards out.
Dundee tried to apply some pressure down the other end as Willie Dyer put a through-ball in for Jim McAlister, but Virgil van Dijk was waiting to clear it for the home side.
The hosts took the lead on the half-hour mark when Izaguirre connected with Griffiths again, this time leaving the forward to outjump Thomas Konrad and nod it into the bottom corner.
Ronny Deila's side needed just over five minutes to clinch a second as Kris Commons slotted the ball forward to Scott Brown, setting the skipper up to sweep it in from the centre of the box.
Izaguirre pressed again before the break as the defending Scottish champions tried to make it three, but his shot was deflected behind before he fired over from the resulting corner.
Celtic continued to attack after the break, with Commons curling a corner in for Van Dijk shortly after the restart, but the defender's header was just wide of the post.
Van Dijk looked to get involved up front again as he rounded several Dundee players before trying to curl the ball past Scott Bain, but his finishing touch was lacking.
Bain had to remain alert as a poor clearance from Konrad allowed Stefan Johansen to try his luck from the edge of the box, while Gary Mackay-Steven forced a diving save from the keeper with a rasping shot at the bottom corner.
Celtic finally added a third inside the final 20 minutes when Stephen McGinn fouled Darnell Fisher in the box, leaving Commons to fire home from the penalty spot.
The home side punished Dundee further five minutes later when James Forrest made it four, sprinting into the box unchallenged before drilling his low finish past Bain.
Celtic rounded off the win in style with a fifth just a few minutes from full time as Nir Bitton caught Bain out, unleashing a 30-yard strike into the top corner.
The result means that Aberdeen need to win their match against Dundee United tomorrow to prevent Celtic retaining the title with three matches still to play, while just one more point from their remaining matches will be enough for the Hoops should their nearest rivals claim victory.
Sian Cowper
