Thirteen points clear at the top of the table. The League Cup under lock and key. A decent shot at the Treble to come and progress in Europe confirmed.
Everybody happy at Parkhead? Absolutely. Funny what a scintillating performance can do to ensure the disappointment at failing to land a replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi doesn’t linger.
Even before Celtic engaged top gear here, there were surprisingly few rumblings of discontent about what the final day of the window had brought, or rather, hadn’t.
Just like Brendan Rodgers, it seems that few here are prepared to let a regrettable matter kill their joy.
Life goes on. And even with the side’s talisman now with Rennes, it’s pretty clear that Celtic will remain a formidable force without him.
On point in everything they did here, Celtic eased to a victory every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.
Furuhashi may have taken his leave of this place. Barring an unimaginable collapse, the Premiership trophy will not be following him out the door come May.
Rodgers’ side simply had too many players on song for Dundee to even contemplate recording their first win in this fixture in 46 attempts.
Instead they lurched to consecutive 6-0 defeats after Hearts hammered them by the same scoreline last Saturday.
Arne Engels got things moving with a clinically struck penalty and scored a peach late on just before Nicolas Kuhn did likewise. Adam Idah netted his fourth goal in three games. As at Fir Park last Sunday, though, the Irishman had his thunder stolen by others.
For a player who’s supposedly short on match fitness, Jota put on a quite a show. Deployed on his preferred left side, he tormented Dundee’s defenders with his flicks, backheels and tricks. He provided two assists and regal entertainment. It was quite the homecoming.
Rodgers has stated that he believes the Portuguese will be an even bigger asset to Celtic second time around when he gets up to speed. On this evidence, you would not doubt him.
Maeda swapped ranks to accommodate Jota and still managed to deliver another outstanding display which saw his goal tally for the season rise to 18. His chipped finish for Celtic’s fourth was nothing short of majestic.
With his compatriot now in France, he’s got a huge part to play in the remainder of this season. How Celtic will miss the suspended Maeda when Bayern Munich come to town next week.
This was a fine night for Celtic. Jeffrey Schlupp was able to make his debut from the bench with the side five goals up and still looking for more.
There was never any suggestion of Rodgers wrapping main striker Idah in cotton wool. The Irishman was supported by Maeda and Jota, a first start for the Portuguese in his second spell at the club seeing Kuhn benched.
You could never have accused Dundee of loading the sandbags here. Set up with two strikers in Simon Murray and Seun Adewumi, they fed them as early as possible. and initially asked plenty questions of Celtic’s central defenders.
The home side still fashioned enough early chances to satisfy their manager.
Trevor Carson reacted smartly to prevent Reo Hatate’s whipped cross being swept home at the far post by Maeda.
Alistair Johnston saw an ambitious volley flash over. Hatate then sent an ambitious curler just wide.
The build up to the opener was a strange episode. Referee Colin Steven had an unobstructed view of Auston Trusty’s joust with Mohamad Sylla as they contested Engels’ corner. He immediately awarded a foul to the Dundee man.
VAR on the night Alan Muir took a different view. Having suggested the referee review the incident on the pitch side monitor, Steven pointed to the spot then flashed a yellow card at Sylla.
Engels had broken his successful penalty run against Young Boys when his strike from 12 yards was saved. He changed his approach here, racing to the ball with a short run up and powerfully finding the bottom left corner.
Although Celtic continued to dominate proceedings, the Dark Blues dug in and made life difficult for a spell.
Their three central defenders – Ryan Astley, Antonio Portales and Aaron Donnelly – remained alert and blocked cross after cross.
On one of the rare occasions that a delivery escaped them, Jota was not quite on the same page as Idah as he tried to drift onto the Irishman’s cross.
It was hard to begrudge Celtic a commanding half-time lead. It arrived just as ref Steven was considering bringing stoppage time to a close.
Greg Taylor’s ball opened up the visitors before Idah’s strike was beaten away by Carson. Jota’s follow-up met with the same fate. Idah did what all good strikers do. Having lurked with intent, he thumped the ball past the keeper to finally beat him.
There was no respite for the visitors after the break. Frankly, at times, they went to pieces. Celtic’s intensity remained remarkably high, their appetite for more goals evidently not satisfied.
Quick bookings for Josh Mulligan and Cesar Garza doubled the visitors’ card count.
Any slim hopes they had of an unlikely comeback were washed away on 55 minutes.
Jota weaved in off the left flank. Three stopovers preceded a sublime cross. Maeda launched himself to connect with a header which flashed by Carson. Celtic Park was loving this.
On Tuesday, Rodgers had suggested Maeda’s header against Motherwell had been reminiscent of Henrik Larsson. The Japanese’s second, and Celtic’s fourth, was certainly a goal of which the great Swede would have been proud.
Engels, another who produced an excellent display, set the move in motion with a through ball. Donnelly’s studs held the ball up. Maeda took one look at Carson and lobbed him from 20 yards.
Just when you thought you’d seen the best goal of the night, along came Angels. The Belgian’s contribution on 71 minutes was breathtaking. A shift to the right set him up for an outrageous dipping strike which crashed in off the bar.
Celtic still weren’t done. On a night when the goals were of the highest quality, Kuhn managed to climb off the bench and float the ball into the top corner from the right side of the box.
They’ll clearly have a far sterner test against Munich next week, but this superb display will have done them the world of good.
Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel 7; Johnston 7, Carter-Vickers 7, Trusty 7, Taylor 7 (Schlupp 72); McGregor 7.5 (Bernardo 62), Hatate 7 (McCowan 78), Engels 8; Jota 8 (Kuhn 62), Idah 7.5 (Kenny 72), Maeda 8. Booked: Trusty. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 8.
Dundee (3-5-2): Carson 5; Astley 5, Portales 5, Donnelly 5; Mulligan 5, F Robertson 4, Sylla 5, Garza 5 (Larkeche 62), Ingram 5 (McGhee 62); Adewumi 4.5 (Tiffoney 69), Murray 4.5 (Palmer-Houlden 69). Booked: Sylla, Murray, Mulligan, Garza. Manager: Tony Docherty 4.
Referee: Colin Steven 7.
Attendance: N/A.
