All eyes were on Reo Hatate.

The prodigal son didn't disappoint as he marked his Celtic comeback with a bang as the Japanese midfielder helped the champions over the line in this one as Brendan Rodgers's men swatted Livingston aside 3-0 in West Lothian to go back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Hatate turned in a superb 65 minutes before leaving the field as he returned to first-team action with aplomb. He was involved in the first goal as his effort deflected off Mikey Devlin at 49 minutes as Celtic made the vital breakthrough.

It was Portuguese midfielder Paulo Bernardo who came on as a second-half substitute and made sure that all three points were Glasgow-bound with a fine solo effort when he started and finished off a superb move.

Matt O'Riley added a third with seven minutes left on the clock to make the scoreline more emphatic and a true reflection of Celtic's dominance.

The only negative on the day for the visitors was the controversial first-half call by referee Don Robertson and VAR assistant Alan Muir not to award Celtic a first-half penalty after Kyogo Furuhashi was cleaned out by Mikey Devlin. It was inexplicable.

Celtic now head to Ibrox to face Rangers next Sunday in the rudest of health.

The return of Reo, Reo Hatate was well worth the wait 

It was a welcome sight to see the Japanese playmaker back in business for Celtic and how the team have missed his influence. He is a natural-born footballer. There was no sign of ring-rustiness as he strutted his funky stuff and broke the lines at will. Even Matt O'Riley sometimes took a back seat as he allowed his midfield partner to dominate. You could see that his teammates trusted Hatate with the ball and all too often he was the link man. He flashed an early one over the top and was inches away with another curled first-half effort which deserved to nestle in the net. It was the year-old midfielder who made the vital breakthrough five minutes after the restart when he somehow forced a scrappy effort that deflected in off a Livi defender after a spot of pinball in the area. Hatate's timely return to the first-team fold could be the catalyst that spurs Celtic on to title success come May. He is the difference maker in the middle of the park. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Hatate is still the main man for Celtic and he received a tremendous ovation when he left the field after 65 minutes.

Kuhn continues to impress and is developing into a winger of some repute

It was a slow-burn initially with German Nicolas Kuhn but he has firmly come to the boil. He looked dangerous and creative every time he took on his marker. He linked up with Alistair Johnston down Celtic's right-hand side with ease and it functioned excellently at times. It was Kuhn's hassling and pressing that led to Hatate bundling home the crucial opening goal. Kuhn made a fantastic interception and never gave up on the attack and that was pivotal to what happened next. The winger has shown a superb attitude in the last few matches and looked the part. He is a direct player who likes to attack his opponent and take him on. He is starting to motor now and looking every inch the £3 million signing. There is nothing the Celtic supporters love more than a good old-fashioned winger who likes to get to the deadball line. The player is growing in stature and confidence and he is only going to get better in the coming weeks. He is looking and doing the business right now which augurs well for Rodgers and Celtic down the title stretch.

Easy, peasy 'Portuguesey' as Paulo Bernardo settles it all

The Portuguese under-21 midfielder has been the subject of much discussion as to whether Celtic should activate the clause to seal the player's signature on a permanent deal. What an impact he made in West Lothian as he strolled off the bench and started and finished the move that led to Celtic's second-clinching goal. It was truly a wonderful piece of play from Bernardo and he is still very much in the mix to make Glasgow his next port of call career-wise. It worked out well for Jota, didn't it? There is no reason to suggest that Bernardo can't follow in his compatriot's footsteps. He also has another major thing going for him in that the manager has taken a real shine to him and is a great admirer of him as a player. Don't be surprised if Celtic do take up Benfica's loan option-to-buy offer come the summer. If today's cameo against Livi is anything to go by then Celtic would be derelict in their duty if they didn't ask the question.

Referee Don Robertson and VAR assistant Alan Muir need to explain themselves over the Kyogo penalty incident.

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi was completely cleaned out in the box by Livingston defender Mikey Devlin yet no penalty was given in a huge first-half flashpoint at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Referee Don Robertson should have been called to the monitor by VAR assistant Alan Muir. Yet he wasn't. Why was that? However, this is the same Alan Muir who could not see a handball by Josh Meekings when he was inches away from the action. Robertson was the referee at Tynecastle when Rodgers had his outburst. He twice made decisions on incidents that ended up being reviewed by VAR that day. It's no wonder that Celtic and their manager are up in arms about marginal calls. Another crucial decision has gone against their team. If the official Roberston can't see that incident with his own eyes in the first place then what is he seeing? Both Robertson and Muir should have to explain themselves on this one. There is too much at stake to get these huge calls wrong and it is a wrong call. In any football world, it is a penalty all day long but surprisingly not for the likes of Robertson or Muir though.