The Machine Rolls On

Wednesday 1st March 2017 - Inverness 0 Celtic 4 (Sinclair 43, Dembele 46, 73, Armstrong 66)

Celtic went 27 points clear at the top of the league as we demolished Inverness 4-0 in another great performance in which star men Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair once more thrived.

The only changes from Saturday's team were Lustig back in for Gamboa and Gary Mackay-Steven taking over from the injured Forrest.

The game began quite slowly, with Celtic having lots of possession but struggling to breakdown Inverness, who had plenty of men behind the ball, some sloppy play from Bitton and Mackay-Steven didn't help, Mackay-Steven did have our best chance though, as his shot was parried round the post by Fon Williams.

Thankfully the breakthrough arrived just before half-time, and it was Scott Sinclair who made the difference. He got the ball around 35 yards from goal, eluded a challenge and managed to stay on his feet and curled a ball into the corner from around 30 yards out, a very good goal (1-0).

The second goal arrived just 13 seconds into the second-half, and was a great piece of anticipation by Moussa Dembele, as he took advantage of a horrible miskick by the Inverness goalie Fon Williams, Dembele got the ball in the air, lofted it over Williams' head and put it into the net, it was marvellous forward play by Dembele, his 30th goal of the season (2-0).

The third goal was a lovely free-kick from Stuart Armstrong in the 66th minute, who noticed Williams leaving a space at the near post and flighted the ball into the net for his 10th goal of the season (3-0).

Interestingly, it was Celtic assistant Chris Davies who spotted Williams off his line, who told Brendan Rodgers, who shouted on Armstrong to 'SHOOT'. Great teamwork on and off the pitch.

Dembele's second arrived in the 73rd minute, a fine pass from Tierney put him through on goal, as he left the defenders for dead and dinked the ball over Williams (4-0).

Despite constant pressure we couldn't add more goals, Sinclair should have had a hat-trick but was denied by some good saves, but there was no excuse for sub Callum McGregor who blazed over the bar when it was easier to close.

However, it would be churlish to complain about this game, as it was yet another good performance. Dembele and Sinclair obviously were the stand-out performers, but Brown, Tierney and Armstrong played at their usual high standards. It was good to see the players continue to work hard even though the game was won, they don't want the standards to slip.

27 points ahead, 7 more points needed for the title - get ready for more records to be broken.