Celtic thump Hearts to move six points clear

Brendan Rodgers says Celtic “can have a bit of fun” in next Saturday’s Old Firm derby after a commanding victory over Hearts moved them six points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit.

In a breathless start, Kyogo Furuhashi nodded in from compatriot Reo Hatate’s cross to ignite a boisterous Celtic Park crowd that had been almost stunned three minutes earlier when Lawrence Shankland’s effort deflected just wide.

Hearts, who had won their previous two encounters with Celtic, responded well but were undone again when Matt O’Riley’s outrageous ball from deep on the left found Kyogo racing into the box to finish first time.

The Celtic forward was denied a first-half treble when his shot on the swivel was tipped round the post by a busy Zander Clark, who prevented a third for the hosts after the break with a fine double save to deny Hatate and O’Riley.

However, the Hearts goalkeeper could do nothing to stop O’Riley’s late penalty, rifled high into the top-right corner after an on-field review showed Shankland had clearly handled in the box.

The result ramps up the pressure on Rangers, who welcome Kilmarnock on Sunday and now know there is almost no margin for error with a potential Old Firm title decider looming next weekend.

“It’s felt like it’s getting back to what I want it to be,” Rodgers said of his side’s performance. “This stage, it’s all about mentality. You can see mentally we are in a really good place.

“We have a lot of work to do in the week. We’ll get our plan ready and then next Saturday we can have a bit of fun.”

Steven Naismith’s Hearts side excelled in first-half spells, with Cammy Devlin having a close-range shot tipped wide superbly by Joe Hart before Stephen Kingsley planted a back-post header wide.

However, the visitors were ultimately caught out by one defensive lapse, a stunning moment of quality and a bizarre handball, although tidier finishing from Celtic would have made it a more sobering afternoon.