In the heat of Leith, Celtic barely had to break sweat as they clocked up a second successive win of the season with a performance that seemed akin to a training exercise for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Nicolas Kuhn added further weight to the theory that he is a player revitalised with his second goal in as many matches. He also provided the assist for Callum McGregor to double Celtic’s lead as the Hoops took a firm grip of the game from the off.
Indeed, there were only 2 minutes and 48 seconds on the clock when Kuhn got Celtic off the mark.
Hibs were caught sleeping as Kyogo Furuhashi picked up a speculative pass before driving at the Hibs defence. The striker unleashed a fierce effort from the edge of the box which Josef Bursik could only parry. Alert to the opportunity, James Forrest was quick to snatch the loose ball and cut it back across the face of an open goal for Kuhn to tap into the net from close range.
It set the tone for an afternoon where Hibs could not lay a glove on their visitors.
McGregor doubled Celtic’s lead with a rasping 25-yard effort that arched into the top corner of the net and, with the game not yet at the 20-minute mark, it was always going to be a long way back for the Easter Road side.
When they did find themselves in any area where they could offer menace, the chances were squander. The Hibs fans roared their disapproval when Martin Boyle blasted one wild effort high and wide but in truth David Gray’s side were never in a position where they looked capable of troubling Celtic.
Indeed, there was always a suspicion that Celtic could add to their tally. A deflected McGregor effort clipped the woodwork immediately after the restart before Kuhn was flagged offside but there was always a feeling that Hibs were susceptible to shipping further goals against a Celtic side who have needed little time to get into full gear this season.
Kyogo fluffed his lines after pulling the ball down in the box while Matt O’Riley aimed directly into the arms of Hibs stopper Josef Bursik but there was a prevailing feeling of the game being a damage limitation exercise for the hosts.
Mickey Johnston came off the bench to flash an effort wide of the post as Celtic although Kieron Bowie came off the bench to finally give Hibs something to cheer when he slipped the ball through the legs of Cameron Carter-Vickers before whacking the crossbar. It may offer a portent of what is to come from him across the coming weeks but ultimately there was little to get excited about for Gray’s side across the entirety of a 90 minutes that seemed akin to an endurance test at times.
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