Celtic decimated Kilmarnock 5-0 at Rugby Park last night, as Brendan Rodgers’ side sealed their third consecutive Scottish Premiership league title in style.

Needing only a point to retain their league crown, the visitors to Ayrshire wasted little time as Adam Idah’s return to the starting line-up amounted to a goal in the fifth minute for the on-loan forward. They would double their lead seven minutes later through Daizen Maeda before James Forrest added a third 10 minutes before the break. Not to be outdone by his teammates, Matt O’Riley netted a brace to usher Celtic into their title celebrations, including a stunning strike from range that left Kieran O’Hara with no chance in the Kilmarnock goal.

Using StatsBomb data and metrics, The Celtic Way brings you an analytically-powered match report unlike any other…

Key stats + race chart

Admittedly, there were some nerves from outside concerning the opposition and their pitch ahead of this match, but Celtic made light work of both on the night. Judging by the match stats, the new champions were worthy of their heavy win over Derek McInnes’ high-flying side.

Indeed, Celtic managed 30 shots including 12 on target, with the home side only managing to get two of their 12 shots to test Joe Hart. 772 attempted passes and 73 per cent possession further emphasise this point, as well as an 88 per cent pass completion for the all-conquering visiting side to Rugby Park.

When observing the race chart from last night’s game, it was essentially one-way traffic concerning the flow of the game, despite Kilmarnock’s best efforts. After Celtic scored through Idah in the fifth minute, they pulled away from their opponents, ending with an xG of 4.00, a massive total for the club on a special night both on and off the park.

With the chances created, StatsBomb gave Celtic a massive 96 per cent chance of winning this game, with a draw given as three per cent. Kilmarnock were given a single per cent chance of gaining all three points despite taking 12 shots, a clear showing of Celtic’s dominance throughout.

Team line-up, positions and passing

As has been the case for the vast majority of this season, Rodgers elected to go with his tried and tested 4-3-3 formation for the trip to Rugby Park. Hart started in goals, with a back four of Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales and Greg Taylor from right to left. The midfield remained unchanged too, as captain Callum McGregor was joined by Reo Hatate and O’Riley further forward. Up front, Idah was supported by Maeda and Forrest on the left and right wing respectively, with the Irishman the only change from Saturday’s win vs Rangers, in place of the benched Kyogo Furuhashi.

Looking at Celtic’s passing network for last night’s match, it is clear to see a connected team relating to distribution, though the average positions of the players have changed from Saturday. Indeed, all of the back four plus McGregor were situated in their own half, whilst the remaining five were pushed further forward.

Concerning OBV performances, Johnston and O’Riley had positive performances on the right, as well as Maeda on the left wing. Carter-Vickers and Forrest also came across positively, both also thriving on the left. Johnston’s 0.59 OBV total was the highest for both teams, closely followed by O’Riley’s 0.56 total. Maeda – forever working hard both on and off the ball – had 0.39 in OBV.

Only one place to start with key passes, as Celtic’s main man this season O’Riley had SEVEN in total. A stunning performance yet again from the club’s standout performer this campaign. Hatate had four of his own, whilst Forrest had three. Luis Palma and Maeda had two to their name, on what was a fruitful night for distribution between teammates.

Shooting

Celtic’s shot map for this game is a busy place, as the away side managed 30 shots last night at Rugby Park. As shown by the grey shapes, many of those were blocked by a busy Kilmarnock defence, though this did not stop them from being hammered on the night by an in-form Celtic attack. A nice mixture of shots from distance and close-range efforts, though three out of their five goals were from extremely close range, highlighting their effectiveness in working the ball into good positions to attack.

Though all five of Celtic’s goals were well-taken, O’Riley’s first – Celtic’s fourth of the night – was the highlight of the match. In the second phase of an attack, after Hatate’s shot was blocked, O’Riley was fed the ball through by Forrest on the right wing. The Denmark international took a touch to control the ball before launching an unstoppable strike into the left-hand side of O’Hara’s goal.

A strike packed to the brim with power and precision, it only registered as 0.05 in xG, before rising slightly to 0.19 following the shot leaving his left boot. A sublime strike from a sublime footballer, who is destined for bigger things in years to come, unfortunately away from Celtic.

Despite only coming on to the park after 60 minutes, Kyogo had the joint-highest shots in the game with five, tied with O’Riley and the impressive Idah. Forrest had four, tied incredibly with Scales, who showed his attacking credentials on the night when venturing forward.

Pressing and defending

As Celtic had more possession of the ball in proceedings, Kilmarnock endeavoured to pressure more due to having longer spells without it. The home side had 226 to Celtic’s 134, regaining the ball from pressures at a rate of 37 to 27.

Somewhat surprisingly, Hatate was Celtic’s best presser with 15, whilst Palma was just behind him with 14 to his name. Scales and Maeda had 13, as Johnston and O’Riley managed 12. In counterpressures, O’Riley had five, as Hatate managed four of his own. Six players had three counterpressures, including the likes of Idah, McGregor and Forrest.

Taylor had a phenomenal game defensively concerning combined tackles and interceptions with nine in total, a game-high stat. Maeda and Palma were the next-highest for the visitors, at a much lower three combined in this metric. Scales and Carter-Vickers had a combined 10 clearances and 15 aerial duel wins between them, as the pair helped Celtic to another clean sheet for their troubles.

Summary

Overall, it was a fantastic night for everyone involved with the club, from the supporters in the stands to the players and manager on the pitch and on the sidelines. Particularly in the first half, Celtic strutted their stuff and gave Kilmarnock a whole host of problems, particularly in the forward areas through Maeda, Forrest, O’Riley and especially Idah.

Arguably their best display under Rodgers since his return, this was a sneak peek into what the club could be next season with the Northern Irishman at the helm for a second campaign. It was a massive indication and showing of what Celtic can be when they play at full pelt.

Trophy Day on Saturday awaits the newly-crowned champions, as Celtic will look to finish off the league season in style. If they play anything like they did last night, then you would expect more goals to follow on what is set to be a sunny May afternoon in Glasgow’s east end.