Celtic discover a gift from the gods in front of Parkhead royalty amid worrying signs at Aberdeen

Benjamin Nygren struck a second 20 minutes later, set up by a sensational flick from Duran. Yang Hyun-jun added a third on the stroke of half time on the counter-attack after a rare moment of Aberdeen threat. Gavin Malloy bashed a header off the crossbar from a corner and before anyone knew it—Aberdeen defenders included—the ball was in the back of the net at the other end. Who played Yang in? Duran of course.

Three new signings took their place on the bench for the hosts, with on-loan Parma midfielder Oliver Sorensen making an appearance after 64 minutes. Teenage Chelsea striker Shim Mheuka, another on loan capture, was introduced ten minutes later and watched Aberdeen keeper Marius Muller deny him a debut goal moments later with a good save low to his right.

Although heavy rain was falling, the fact Celtic were already leading 3-0 meant these were very comfortable circumstances in which to make a bow. The ball zipped around the slick surface. While Aberdeen made more of a game of it in the second half, with half-time sub Lewis Smith proving lively, the points were already safe for Celtic. Martin O’Neill could have shot off and signed some more players.

Joel van den Berg was among the players who disembarked the team bus before kick-off having sealed his move from PSV. The Dutch teenager and his fellow newcomers will need to go some to match the impact Duran has managed in his short time so far at Celtic. The Colombian is proving a gift from the gods.

Dalglish, who has recently undergone treatment for cancer, can only have been impressed. The 75-year-old Celtic and Liverpool hero was interviewed on the pitch before kick off and spoke of the enduring relationship between his former clubs while also reminiscing about scoring a penalty in his first Old Firm clash in 1971 having been instructed by Billy McNeill to take it.

Parkhead bathed in these memories. Albeit Aberdeen fans were less minded to indulge such nostalgia. They began chanting their songs midway through the interview with the knight of the realm, though it was really the only time they were heard. Stephen Robinson’s decision to make four changes at half time – his starting XI had already featured five changes from Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at home against Rangers - probably said it all. Things are not quite clicking at Pittodrie.

Perhaps the withdrawals, including striker Kevin Nisbet, were made with an eye on Sunday’s now critical home match against struggling Kilmarnock. Ayeb Mouloua, the Moroccan forward, was another who stayed inside at half time. Before Molloy’s crossbar-hitting effort, Mouloua had come closest to scoring for Aberdeen with a header from Nesta Guinness-Walker that went narrowly wide. Otherwise, it was pretty much all Celtic, and it was increasingly hard to fathom any kind of game plan from Aberdeen. No wonder Robinson dismissed a question on the subject before kick-off during a radio interview. “Shape is for pundits,” he said.

The slick surface did make things difficult at times. Passes had to be controlled accordingly. But once Celtic found their rhythm, there was only going to be one winner. Duran got things underway with the first after 15 minutes following a flowing move down the left. Nygren passed inside and Duran evaded the returning Mats Knoester with a little shimmy that might have been learned from Dalglish before lifting an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box off the crossbar and into the net.

The Colombian should have scored a second shortly afterwards but was too precise with his finish after another Nygren lay-off, allowing Muller to smother the ball well.

Celtic players were getting in the way of each other – Nygren blocked an effort from his own teammate, Colby Donovan. Nobody was sulking though. After 35 minutes Haissem Hassan crossed for Duran, who somehow engineered a lay-off for Nygren despite facing the wrong way. The Swede did the rest, finishing inside Marius Muller’s near post from the edge of the box.

It was already looking like a long night for Aberdeen. Confirmation of this arrived when Celtic scored a third in additional time at the end of the first half after a corner at the other end. Molloy’s header smacked off the bar and the home side broke up field like the cavalry before Yang settled things with a neat finish following Duran’s pass into his path.