Celtic 7-1 Hearts: Player ratings, defensive suicide, gifts, ruthless punishments, Sassuolo watching

This was a lesson for Hearts in how not to approach an away match against one of Scotland’s traditional heavyweights. Celtic’s two early goals laid the platform for a dominant Premiership win as the Edinburgh club became architects of their own downfall in their worst ever competitive loss at Parkhead. The hosts led 5-1 at half-time by ruthlessly exploiting some careless midfield play and sub-standard defending from their visitors. By full-time, they had increased their lead at the top of the league to four points with a 7-1 drubbing.

Kieran Tierney’s seventh-minute header and Benjamin Nygren’s strike three minutes later, both from Mika Baur corner kicks, left Hearts chasing a game they simply could not get back into. Callum Osmand’s double made it 4-0 before Laurent Mendy struck to offer a moment of fleeting hope for those from Tynecastle. An own goal gave Celtic their fifth within seconds, and after the break Camilo Duran claimed the sixth. Nygren tucked home the seventh late on to round off the scoring.

Questions must be asked about why Hearts were so defensively open in an arena where they have lost heavily on several occasions over the last decade. Too many of their players were also naive on the ball and ceded possession cheaply. Individual mistakes were a theme throughout the afternoon. Head coach Wouter Vrancken has been rightly praised for his attacking philosophy, however the extent of the defensive disarray during this game was extremely alarming.

There should also be questions asked regarding set-pieces given Celtic scored their first two goals with relative ease from two corners. It was the exact opposite of how an away side should start off in Glasgow. Carelessly losing possession then cost Hearts badly at the third, fourth and sixth goals. Ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Conference League trip to Trabzonspor, they must learn how to stay more compact out of possession and protect the ball individually when they have it against the better teams.

This was always likely to be an open affair but few people would have predicted it being so one-sided. It must be said that Celtic were clinical and hungry, seizing on mistakes to overrun Hearts on countless occasions. Observing from Celtic Park’s main stand was a representative from Serie A side Sassuolo. He was scouting two of Scotland’s challenging sides to assess their talent, with internationalists Josh Doig and Kieron Bowie already serving the Italian club well.

Both Celtic and Hearts were striving for freshness and energy three days after midweek European exertions. Celtic’s 4-1 defeat by Benfica in Lisbon and Hearts’ 1-1 draw with Nordsjaelland meant some team changes. The hosts made four alterations as Osmand, Haissem Hassan, Nygren and Liam Scales were recalled to the starting line-up by manager Martin O’Neill. His Tynecastle counterpart Vrancken switched three players - Sabri Guendouz, Jordi Altena and Stephen Kingsley all returned. Guendouz in particular struggled to cope with the intensity of the encounter.

This was Hearts’ first visit to Parkhead since May’s Premiership title decider. Their management team and squad have been overhauled since then, but Altena, Kingsley and Claudio Braga were all involved. If that day ended disappointingly for the away side, this one didn’t start much better.

Scales climbed to glance Baur’s corner on and the unmarked Tierney nodded it home from just two yards to hand Hearts an uphill task in Glasgow. Three minutes later, the deficit doubled. Another Baur corner was only partially cleared by Oisin McEntee and Dane Murray hooked it back towards goal. Nygren was in place to side-foot a composed left-footed finish beyond the visiting goalkeeper Beau Reus.

As Celtic threatened to do further damage, Hassan’s 17th-minute driving run ended with a shot from 16 yards which careered off Reus’ right post. Hassan then skinned Laurent Mendy down the right and cut the ball back for Nygren to shoot low, but Reus produced a good block with an outstretched left leg.

Vrancken looked frustrated in the technical area each time his team conceded possession. Hearts responded when Braga flicked Josh McPake’s cross goalwards, resulting in a comfortable save for the Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo. Altena’s 28th-minute free-kick found Jamie McCart inside the opposition penalty area, but the defender’s header on the run bounced wide of target.

Celtic’s third goal on 36 minutes put the result beyond doubt. After Guendouz’s slack pass gifted the home side possession, Duran slid a pass through for Osmand to angle past Reus and into the far corner of the net. The same player claimed the fourth two minutes later, and again it stemmed from possession being lost. Duran dispossessed McCart near the halfway line and sprinted off to get Nygren’s slide pass. Malachi Fagan-Walcott arrived at the ball first but hesitated, allowing Duran to shoot. Reus saved the effort but Duran reacted quickest to clip the rebound over the keeper to the back post, where Osmand headed into an empty net.

Hearts reduced the deficit four minutes from the interval. Josh McPake rolled a ball to Mendy on the edge of Celtic’s penalty area, and the midfielder dispatched a fine angled finish into the corner despite Sinisalo’s dive. That should have offered some slender hope for those in maroon at half-time. Instead, they conceded a fifth goal within moments. Baur set off on a dribbling run and passed both Guendouz and Fagan-Walcott with ease before clipping the ball over the advancing Reus from an acute angle. McCart and Kingsley slid in but couldn’t stop it crossing the line and the strike was recorded as an own goal by McCart.

Celtic scored a sixth within four minutes of the restart. Again Guendouz was dispossessed in midfield, this time by Tierney as he scampered off towards goal. The Scotland full-back slid a pass through for Duran to stroke a first-time finish into the net. Hearts looked totally overwhelmed, while O’Neill’s team were now in full flow. When substitute Tomas Magnusson’s slack ball was intercepted, Kasper Hogh raced forward for a clever spin before passing through for Nygren to knock home a seventh.

The Hearts player ratings from Celtic Park are below: