Celtic demolished a sorry Motherwell side to keep up the pressure on Hearts at the top of the table, and extend their lead over Rangers to eight points. It was a five star performance by the Hoops in which football was played the way it should be.

Celtic opened the scoring after only 14 minutes following a fine move. The ever impressive Petrov controlled Maloney's disguised pass close to the penalty spot and calmly slotted the ball past the helpless Smith in the Motherwell goal.

Two minutes later Celtic doubled the advantage after an impressive finish by Maloney. Craig Beattie found Maloney at the far post with a great cross and the youngster had time to control the ball before sending a low shot home from eight yards. The young Scot made the goal look easy as technically it was a very difficult finish.

Motherwell were being ripped apart with ease due to Celtic's slick one-touch passing and it was no surprise when Petrov grabbed his second of the evening after only a quarter of the game. Beattie laid the ball off for the Bulgarian star, who curled a superb left-footed shot past the outstretched hand of Smith and into the bottom corner of the net from just outside the area. This was a fantastic goal but it would be bettered as Celtic put on a fantastic spectacle of the Celtic Park crowd.

Motherwell rarely threatened in the first half but were handed a glorious chance in the 44th minute. Bobo Balde's shocking under-hit his back-pass let in Richie Foran for a one-on-one with Boruc. The Pole put Foran under pressure and got a hand to the ball to spare Balde's blushes. This mistake was due to a complete lack of concentration but great goalkeeping saved him from a howler.

Motherwell had another rare chance early in the second-half when Brian McLean sent Brian Kerr's corner towards goal, but Mo Camara was on the goal-line to clear.

As the second half progressed Celtic were mounting the pressure on the Motherwell backline. Maloney forced a good save from Smith after good skill from the Scot created the chance for himself before the impressive substitute Ross Wallace sent a long-range effort whistling past the post.

Nakamura then demonstrated why Strachan splashed out a big transfer fee in the region of £3.7m when he sent a superb 30 yard left-foot free-kick flying past Smith and into the top corner from distance. This goal got the biggest cheer of the night and was worth the admission fee alone. The Japanese international shot not only had great pace, it had great swerve and dip. This goal capped a classy display by Nakamura whose range of passing was a joy to watch at times.

Petrov completed his first hat-trick for the Hoops with 11 minutes remaining when he met Sutton's flick and smashed the ball beyond Smith. The hat-trick was the least Petrov deserved as the absolutley brilliant on the night. Strachan later described the midfielders display as "perfect".

Celtic were held 4-4 at Motherwell on the opening day of the season, but there was no chance of a repeat of this with the home side in sparkling form. The night was completed with the roar to the result from Almondvale as Rangers lost futher ground, after losing a two goal lead to the winless side. All in all, I good night!

Celtic: (4-4-2)

Boruc

Telfer Balde McManus Camara(Wallace 59)

Nakamura Petrov Lennon Maloney

Sutton(McGeady 83) Beattie(Hartson 63).


Motherwell: Graeme Smith, Corrigan, Craigan, Kinniburgh, Hammell (Paul Quinn 22), Fagan, Kerr, McLean (Fitzpatrick 73), Foran (Clarkson 68), Hamilton, Scott McDonald.
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Steve McDonald, Connolly, Darren Lee Smith.

Att:57,388