Larsson brace helps Celtic thump Hearts

Celtic 4 Hearts 1

Celtic sent out a chilling warning to Premier League leaders Rangers after they brushed Hearts aside 4-1.

Henrik Larsson scored a double while Chris Sutton and Stilian Petrov also weighed in with first-half goals to kill off Hearts and close the gap at the top of the table to one point.

Celtic made the perfect start when they took the lead with their very first chance after just two minutes.

The opportunity came about after Steven Pressley, was rightly penalised for climbing all over the back of Sutton on the left touchline.

Neil Lennon played the ball into Sutton, who turned his marker Kevin McKenna before drilling the shot low past the despairing dive of Roddy McKenzie.

The home side looked for a quick reply, but they were hit by a cruel sucker-punch just six minutes later.

Petrov broke forward at pace and picked out Sutton on the right flank.

The Englishman's cross was touched on by Larsson to Steve Guppy who fired against the upright, but the ball fell kindly into the path of the Bulgarian to steer the ball into the back of the net.

Such was the champions' dominance it took Hearts 21 minutes to muster their first effort at goal, but Phil Stamp screwed his right-foot shot just past the post from the edge of the box.

The home side took some heart from that and they bustled their through for a chance three minutes later.

Paul McMullan played a long ball into the box and de Vries knocked the ball on to Andy Kirk, who drilled his right-foot shot into the side-netting from a tight angle with the help of a deflection.

Hearts won a free-kick in a dangerous area after 26 minutes when Paul Lambert was judged to have fouled Mark de Vries five yards outside the box.

From the resulting kick Robert Douglas pulled off a great save down to his left to keep Jean-Louis Valois' effort out and then even bettered that with a superb reflex stop from Kirk's follow-up.

But Hearts were getting as agitated as their supporters and Scott Severin was booked for a bad challenge on Didier Agathe.

It should have got even worse for the home side and they had all but accepted that the game was over in the 35th minute when Larsson had a glorious chance.

Petrov played the ball up to Sutton and he back-heeled the ball back into his path.

He looked up and saw the Swede lose his marker, but the dependable striker somehow struck his left-foot shot over the bar from seven yards.

But Larsson never let that affect him and he responded by killing the game off just two minutes later.

Sutton headed Lennon's inviting cross against the upright and the ball fell to his strike-partner to fire into the back of the net.

McKenna could have revived his side moments later when he fired wide after a goalmouth scramble, but it was Celtic who stretched their lead even further just three minutes before the break.

With the Hearts defence all over the place, Bobo Balde played the ball into the path of Larsson and he drew the keeper before dinking the ball over him for his 17th goal of the campaign.

David McGeown was saved from any more agony on his full Hearts debut when he and Phil Stamp were taken off and replaced by Stephen Simmons and Andrew Webster.

The home fans finally had something to cheer in the 63rd minute when Agathe was booked for a foul on Kirk, but their brief smiles were nearly wiped away two minutes later.

The winger picked out Sutton to head down into the path of Larsson, who elected to use his foot instead of his head and promptly fired over the bar from little more than five yards.

John Hartson finally got his chance in the 75th minute when he came on for Guppy, but even then he was overshadowed by Hearts substitute Gary Wales, who hit a late consolation.

Hearts 1 (0) Celtic 4 (4)

Referee: K Clark

Attendance: 13911

Hearts: Roddy McKenzie, Alan Maybury, Steven Pressley, Kevin McKenna, Scott Severin, Phil Stamp (Andrew Webster, 45), David McGeown (Stephen Simmons, 45), Paul McMullan, Jean-Louis Valois, Andy Kirk (Gary Wales, 77), Mark de Vries

Subs: Craig Gordon, Kevin Twaddle, Gary Wales, Andrew Webster, Stephen Simmons

Celtic: Robert Douglas, Joos Valgaeren (Stephen Crainey, 75), Bobo Balde, Ulrik Laursen, Didier Agathe, Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon, Stilian Petrov (Alan Thompson, 68), Steve Guppy (John Hartson, 75), Chris Sutton, Henrik Larsson

Subs: Jonathan Gould, Alan Thompson, John Hartson, Stephen Crainey, Liam Miller

Action:

3 min - Goal, Chris Sutton, (Celtic)

9 min - Goal, Stilian Petrov, (Celtic)

32 min - Booking, Scott Severin (Hearts), Unsporting behaviour

37 min - Goal, Henrik Larsson, (Celtic)

42 min - Goal, Henrik Larsson, (Celtic)

45 min - Substitution, Webster on for Stamp, (Hearts)

45 min - Substitution, Simmons on for McGeown, (Hearts)

63 min - Booking, Didier Agathe (Celtic), Unsporting behaviour

68 min - Substitution, Thompson on for Petrov, (Celtic)

75 min - Substitution, Crainey on for Valgaeren, (Celtic)

75 min - Substitution, Hartson on for Guppy, (Celtic)

77 min - Substitution, Wales on for Kirk, (Hearts)

89 min - Goal, Gary Wales, (Hearts)