Celtic 6-0 Dundee: Kyogo Furuhashi scores hat-trick as Ange Postecoglou gets first league win

The outstanding Kyogo Furuhashi scored a hat-trick as Celtic swept aside Dundee to give manager Ange Postecoglou a rousing first Scottish Premiership victory in front of 24,500 fans.

The Japanese forward pounced twice in the box to finish flowing Celtic attacks before the break, and dinked in his third in the second half before being replaced to a standing ovation.

Tom Rogic had already added Celtic's third, and Anthony Ralston converted a superb fifth goal before Odsonne Edouard scored a sixth from the spot.

It was a tough day at the office for James McPake's Dundee, as they finished with 10 men following Jordan Marshall's foul on Liel Abada, which resulted in a red card and Celtic's penalty.

Despite a difficult start to life in Glasgow, Postecoglou was given a warm reception from those allowed into the stadium as the Australian took charge of his first home league game.

The ire of many of the supporters has been fully focused on those in the boardroom and some protested pre-match, as an early Champions League exit was followed up by defeat by Hearts on the opening week of league action.

But despite the full backing of the supporters, Postecoglou would have known all too well that signs of progress on the pitch were essential to retain their long-term faith, and this rout of Dundee showed the way forward.

Furuhashi was at the heart of it as his energy, movement, and first touch mesmerised the Dundee defenders as well as the crowd.

The forward ought to have opened the scoring on 10 minutes, but put the ball past a post after a flowing move. But he did not make the same mistake when given another chance, finishing smartly across Adam Legzdins after Liel Abada was set free by David Turnbull to send the ball across goal.

Furuhashi was then lightening quick to peel off his marker as Christie surged down the left, and when the Scotland forward found his team-mate with an inch-perfect cross, he was in the right place to tap home.

Only a goalline clearance from Dundee defender Lee Ashcroft prevented him from completing a first-half hat-trick as his intelligence continued to cause problems.

He was far from the only outstanding performer for Celtic, though, and Turnbull found Christie again to tee up Rogic to fire past Legzdins and kill the game off early in the second period.

And minutes after missing a clear opportunity for his hat-trick, Furuhashi was wheeling away in celebration for a third time as the brilliant Christie slipped the ball through for him to lift the ball into the bottom corner.

Ralston then added to his goal against Hearts - and his rehabilitated reputation - as he touched the ball away from both Dundee centre-backs before sticking the ball into the bottom corner.

And Celtic were not done yet as Abada drove into the box to tease Marshall into bundling him to the deck, which resulted in the Dundee defender's red card, and substitute Edouard firing past Legzdins to cap a slick Celtic display.

The only negative is a potential injury to Edouard, who was seen hobbling off after a post-match warm down.

Man of the match - Kyogo Furuhashi

What did we learn?

This was as good as Celtic have played in months. Furuhashi will rightly grab the headlines, but there was so much to like about their play.

Callum McGregor dictated from deep and drove the team forward, providing a calming influence as Celtic continued to play out from the back after a slightly shaky first few minutes when Dundee pressed high.

Christie grabbed three assists, Turnbull's range of passing was outstanding, Abada's directness was a joy, and a rare clean sheet will boost confidence. There will be tougher tests to come, but Postecoglou wanted to "kickstart" Celtic's season, and his team certainly did that.

Dundee will not be judged on visits to the Old Firm this season, but this was still a chastening afternoon. They made an encouraging start as they set about forcing the Celtic backline into mistakes, but once the home side settled, James McPake's side struggled to get near them.

The Dens Park boss did not want to directly address news of MK Dons' interest in his services, instead insisting he is fully focussed on bouncing back from this heavy loss.

What they said

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "It was great right from the beginning. There was great intent to put our stamp on the game. The pleasing thing was we didn't let up, right up to the final minute we're trying to score another goal."

Dundee manager James McPake: "It's quite an easy assessment, we were nowhere near good enough. We never got close enough to Celtic all over the pitch. Defensively we were really poor. We've been here before where we've taken heavy and sore defeats. So I'm not worried at all about the reaction."

What's next?

Celtic host FK Jablonec in the return leg of their Europa League qualifier on Thursday (19:45 BST), followed by a League Cup last-16 tie against Hearts on Sunday (15:00). Dundee are at home to Motherwell in their League Cup tie on Saturday (15:00).

Player of the match

FuruhashiKyogo Furuhashi

Celtic

Squad number8Player nameFuruhashi

Squad number17Player nameChristie

Squad number11Player nameAbada

Squad number42Player nameMcGregor

Squad number14Player nameTurnbull

Squad number18Player nameRogic

Squad number57Player nameWelsh

Squad number56Player nameRalston

Squad number49Player nameForrest

Squad number4Player nameStarfelt

Squad number54Player nameMontgomery

Squad number3Player nameTaylor

Squad number15Player nameHart

Squad number22Player nameEdouard

Dundee

Squad number6Player nameMcGhee

Squad number10Player nameMcGowan

Squad number1Player nameLegzdins

Squad number26Player nameAdam

Squad number23Player nameSheridan

Squad number18Player nameMcMullan

Squad number8Player nameByrne

Squad number35Player nameCummings

Squad number14Player nameAshcroft

Squad number16Player nameElliott

Squad number5Player nameSweeney

Squad number3Player nameMarshall

Squad number19Player nameRobertson

Squad number17Player nameMcCowan

Line-ups

Celtic

Formation 4-3-3

15Hart

56Ralston57Welsh4Starfelt3Taylor

14Turnbull42McGregor18Rogic

11Abada8Furuhashi17Christie

Substitutes

Dundee

Formation 4-5-1

1Legzdins

16Elliott14Ashcroft5Sweeney3Marshall

18McMullan6McGhee8Byrne26Adam10McGowan

23Sheridan

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Celtic 6, Dundee 0.

Second Half ends, Celtic 6, Dundee 0.

Attempt missed. Liel Abada (Celtic) right footed shot from very close range is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Odsonne Edouard with a headed pass.

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Adam Legzdins.

Attempt missed. David Turnbull (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Callum McGregor.

Goal! Celtic 6, Dundee 0. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.

Jordan Marshall (Dundee) is shown the red card.

Penalty Celtic. Liel Abada draws a foul in the penalty area.

Penalty conceded by Jordan Marshall (Dundee) after a foul in the penalty area.

Attempt missed. Carl Starfelt (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Liel Abada with a cross following a corner.

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Adam Legzdins.

Attempt saved. Liel Abada (Celtic) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Odsonne Edouard.

Goal! Celtic 5, Dundee 0. Anthony Ralston (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by James Forrest with a cross.

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Adam Legzdins.

Attempt saved. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by David Turnbull.

Offside, Dundee. Ryan Sweeney tries a through ball, but Paul McGowan is caught offside.

Foul by Odsonne Edouard (Celtic).

Shaun Byrne (Dundee) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution, Celtic. Adam Montgomery replaces Greg Taylor.

Attempt missed. Ryan Christie (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Liel Abada.

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