Hearts roll out red carpet … and Celtic walk all over it

Hearts thought attack was the best form of defence at Celtic Park. They were badly wrong, writes Tom English. Stephen Kingsley and Jamie McCart cannot stop Celtic scoring a fifth Jimmy Thunder was having none of Crawford Grimsley's chutzpah, none of his mouthing off before their heavyweight contest back in the late 1990s, none of his pre-bout arrogance. Thunder took precisely 1.5 seconds to put Grimsley down – one punch, an overhand right to his opponent's temple. Lights out. Fight over. Statement sent. As Celtic unloaded on Hearts at Celtic Park it was football's equivalent of Thunder's devastation; speed and accuracy and ruthlessness in the face of a challenger akin to a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Hearts didn't give it the big one in the preamble to this evisceration, but they set up in the manner of a team who truly believed they were a whole lot better than they actually are. Poor concentration and lack of physicality cost them two set-piece goals inside 10 minutes. The game was effectively over, but the visitors' suffering had only just begun. The pretenders came to Glasgow with a weak away record in the league – two wins in 11 between this season and the end of last, both against Hibs – and tried to go toe-to-toe. Thinking attack is the best