Celtic cruised into the Premier Sports Cup quarter finals with a 4-0 win at Tannadice, Camilo Duran opening his Hoops account in a ruthless display. Martin O'Neill's men netted twice in each half to banish the memory of their last trip to Tayside.
Quick-fire double settles nerves
Celtic were left face down in the sand on their last visit, but life was a beach this time as they dished out a drubbing. Auston Trusty nodded his side in front, and Duran bundled home just 120 seconds later to make it 2-0 at the break.
United hit the woodwork an incredible five times, with Julius Eskenen and Emmanuel Agyei both striking the same upright early on. Zac Sapsford cracked the bar with a rocket, and Esselink's header scudded the woodwork after the restart.
Second-half surge seals it
Sebastian Tounekti tucked away the third after the break, and Benjamin Nygren curled in number four to send Celts into the last 16. Nygren was involved in all four goals, including his own, while Tounekti's finish and all-round display had the cutting edge he needs.
The game was pretty much out of sight, but Hoops fans lapped up their first look at £16million newcomers Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan. Baur made an instant impression, including a lovely flick in the build-up to the fourth goal, while Hassan came on for the final 20 minutes.
Looking ahead to LASK
O'Neill will have been thrilled to get through this tie without too much stress, but the pressure is on with the Champions League play-off up next. Resting Kieran Tierney paid off, but departing Arne Engels and injured Alistair Johnston will be a miss.
It's a couple of big positives going into the crunch clash with LASK, with Hogh and Duran clicking and Baur and Hassan getting a taste. Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed a rare start and moved the ball around neatly before going off on the hour.
Goodwin was cursing his side's luck but will also have been fuming at how easy his men made it for Celtic with their goals. United were undone by slackness at the back, a similar story to their defeat at Hearts the previous week. Goodwin will need a repeat of the Rangers display in next weekend's big Derby showdown.
