Aberdeen 1 – 5 Celtic

Celtic registered another five-goal haul in the Scottish Premiership, beating Aberdeen 5-1 as Johnny Kenny scored on his first start for the club.

The Hoops have now netted five goals in three of their last five league outings – also doing so against Kilmarnock and Dundee United – making for perfect preparation for when they face the Dons in the Scottish Cup final on May 24.

And it was a night to remember for 21-year-old Kenny. He was one of eight changes made by Brendan Rodgers from the weekend’s win against Hibernian, and he flicked home a header for Celtic’s fourth.

“It was brilliant,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “As a young lad, you dream of playing for this club and scoring. Once the cross was coming in, I wanted to get on the end of it.

“The gaffer told me early last week I’d be playing, and told me to be calm and you’ll get your opportunity. I just had to do what I had to do.”

There had been two fine headers in the first half too. The first saw Maik Nawrocki power home a fine effort from a Celtic corner, joining Kenny in scoring his first goal for the club.

Despite the scoreline, Aberdeen were hardly run over, and equalised shortly before the break. This time it was Kevin Nisbet – well ahead of his marker, Jeff Schlupp – who rose up to nod home.

But in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time – added because of a medical emergency in the crowd that saw the game briefly paused – Hyun-Jun Yang volleyed home from close range to see Celtic back ahead.

The visitors picked up where they had left off in the second half. It took just three minutes to extend their lead further, Luke McCowan shifting his weight in plenty of space before firing into the top corner. It was a superb cross in from James Forrest in the build-up too.

Aberdeen’s evening went from bad to worse as Alfie Dorrington was sent off in the 78th minute. He had been booked inside two minutes for a foul on Yang and faced an uphill battle not to receive another. It eventually came late on when a clip on Adam Idah saw him with a second yellow, and an early return to the dressing room.

Celtic too ended the game with 10 players after an injury to Reo Hatate, but that did not stop them from claiming a fifth on the stroke of full-time when Idah pounced on a loose ball after Nicolas Kuhn’s shot was blocked, slotting home for another impressive haul.

Goals galore – and the red card

Boyd: Spineless, gutless performance from Aberdeen

Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd at Pittodrie: “What we praised Aberdeen for at the start of the season – their energy, getting after teams, stopping them players, people prepared to run without the ball – I do not know what has happened to this team.

“When you look at this football club, they’ve always had players that they’ve been able to sell on. They’ve brought them in, given them a platforms, but I’m looking at this team now and wondering where they’re going to get any money.

“They’ve spent a fortune on players and I don’t even think they’ll get that back for them. I’m not sure they’re any better than they have been for a number of years.

“It was spineless, gutless – whatever you want to say about it. If you’re coming to Pittodrie, you’re expecting to win a battle first – Celtic just played around.

“Jimmy Thelin has a huge couple of weeks. If they finish fifth, then the whole thing changes again, and if you lose the cup final, you go into the transfer window and you can’t keep signing Scandinavian players.

“If Thelin starts the season poorly and is removed from his duties, then the next manager comes in and is left with a bunch of Scandinavian players he doesn’t know much about.”

Rodgers: Celtic were excellent

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to Sky Sports: “It was such a great performance. Especially to come to Pittodrie, it’s always a tough place to come.

“But the level of our football and the mobility, the rotation, the speed of the ball, all the goals, were such a high level. There were so many good performance tonight but collectively as a team, we were excellent.

“We have a very clear structure in how we play so the players that come in know it’s clear what they have to do, then they just have to perform the role… all across the team, it was a joy to watch.”

On Kenny: “We’ve seen that [his ability to score goals] since he’s come back in January and trained with us… his run for the goal was really good.

“It was a fantastic header and you can see the joy everyone had for him. A young Irishman playing for Celtic and to score your first goal, it’s a dream for him.”

On Hatate injury: “It was a poor challenge by the guy, he obviously lost his head a wee bit at the end. Reo has left his leg there with the ball and he’s come right through him. We have to see how he is.”

Thelin: Difficult to accept home defeat

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin to Sky Sports:

“Losing 5-1 at home in front of our fans is difficult to accept. But they are really good when they arrive to the last third, really sharp and they are clinical when they have their chances.

“We had some chances as well, but when we arrive there, we couldn’t find these goals.

“Now we have to focus on the next game and what we can achieve this season to arrive fourth and make a strong game on Saturday against Dundee United.”

What’s coming up in the Scottish Premiership?