Celtic - 5 Livingston - 1 As the cheers rang round Parkhead yesterday it was difficult to know whether Celtic fans were celebrating their team's inexorable march to their 25th consecutive Premier League victory or events at Tannadice, where Rangers were losing to Dundee United.
It was United's first victory over Rangers in almost three years and came thanks to first-half goals from Mark Kerr and Andy McLaren.
There is little the champions-elect's supporters enjoy more than watching their side win while hearing of their great rival's problems elsewhere. A week before the Old Firm meet in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup it is plain to see which of them is better prepared for the derby.
Not that this was one of Celtic's better performances, but it was still far too good for Livingston, who put up a decent fight in the first half and then collapsed.
Martin O'Neill's team, 16 points clear at the top of the table, are on course to win the championship before the league splits in mid-April and have what appears to be a comfortable UEFA Cup passage in midweek after beating FK Teplice 3-0 in the first leg. No wonder O'Neill was all smiles.
"There were two excellent results for us today but nothing has been decided yet," said O'Neill. "As for going through the season unbeaten, I don't think that is possible. We have hard games still to play."
Stephen Pearson put Celtic ahead after 12 minutes with a simple tap-in from a Stanislav Varga pass, and Chris Sutton made it 2-0 later in the half when he reacted first to a Henrik Larsson flick.
Livingston's striker Derek Lilley, who had missed a clear-cut chance earlier, pulled back a deserved goal just before the break.
After the restart Celtic took control as two goals in seven minutes finished it off as a contest. The first was a fine right-foot finish from Alan Thompson after good work by Varga, and the second, inevitably, was a contribution from Larsson, who fired home after a well-worked free-kick by Stilian Petrov and Thompson.
It was like a training exercise after that as both teams accepted the inevitable, and Thompson's 79th-minute penalty after a Marvin Andrews foul on the substitute Craig Beattie was merely the icing on the cake.
CELTIC: Douglas, Kennedy, Balde, Varga (Valgaeren 74), Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson, Thompson, Larsson (Beattie 67), Sutton (Sylla 67). Subs Not Used: Marshall, Lambert. Booked: Lennon, Varga. Goals: Pearson 12, Sutton 36, Thompson 48, Larsson 55, Thompson 80 pen.
LIVINGSTON: McKenzie, McNamee, Rubio (McMenamin 45), Andrews, McAllister, O'Brien, Lovell, Makel (McGovern 65), Dorado, Lilley, Pasquinelli. Subs Not Used: Main, McLaughlin, Brittain. Booked: McAllister, McNamee, McMenamin. Goals: Lilley 41.
Referee: S Dougal (Scotland)
