Clinical Celtic blitzed St Johnstone to storm back to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a stunning 6-0 victory in Perth.

It took the Scottish Premiership champions a while to get going at McDiarmid Park but there was no stopping them when they did.

A brace from Japanese talisman Kyogo Furuhashi and a cracker from Portugal's under-21 midfielder Paulo Bernardo had Brendan Rodgers's side 3-0 up and cruising at the interval. Skipper Callum McGregor added a fourth on 54 minutes before Daizen Maeda headed home a fifth with 18 minutes left on the clock but it was all over bar the shouting by then.

Celtic hit the Saints with a three-goal burst even after having a Daizen Maeda goal disallowed by VAR after they penalised Auston Trusty for a foul on Graeme Carey after 27 minutes.

It was Kyogo who got the ball rolling in this one after 35 minutes when he ran clean through following Nicolas Kunh's headed pass and coolly slotted home the opener past Ross Sinclair.

Kuhn was involved again in the second goal as he received a lofted pass from Alistair Johnston and fed Kyogo whose clever header was gathered by Bernardo who took a touch before curling home a beauty.

It was the second screamer from Bernardo in the space of six days after his counter in the 5-2 win over Falkirk in the League Cup last Sunday at Parkhead.

The visitors were motoring through the gears now and it was Kyogo who cushioned home a header from a sumptuous Greg Taylor cross from the right to make it three and easy in first-half injury time.

The hits just kept on coming after the break as Callum McGregor lashed home number four with a sweet low drive after 55 minutes.

Maeda finally got the goal his endeavour deserved when he latched onto Bernardo's lofted cross on 72 minutes and headed into the net to make it 5-0.

Substitute Adam Idah completed the rout as he made it 6-0 with a brilliantly worked goal after some fantastic work by Alex Valle as the Republic of Ireland international bagged a goal for the third consecutive game.

There was still time for substitute Luke McCowan to crash an effort off the post in the closing stages.

It was the perfect warm-up for Celtic ahead of Tuesday night's meeting in Germany against last season's Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park. 

Kyogo makes it goals No.76 & No.77 of his glittering Celtic career and counting

Kyogo sent a message to Rodgers and Adam Idah that he was still the main striker at the club. The Japanese talisman broke the deadlock in this one after 35 minutes to take his career tally to 76 and three for the campaign. It was Kyogo's first away goal in the league since October last year. After missing a host of one-on-one opportunities this season, he finally came good in Perth when he ran clean through following Nicolas Kuhn's headed assist to clinically despatch and get the champions up and running in this one. He was on hand to steer a great close-range header to make it 3-0 and put the game beyond St Johnstone in the 45th minute after a delicious cross from Greg Taylor from the right. He could easily have helped himself to a hat-trick on the day as other opportunities were spurned but that's merely nit-picking.

Bernardo scores belters all the time, doesn't he?

The hair may not be as fine as Stuart Armstrong's but Bernardo is the new scorer of belters at Celtic. He lashed home a volleyed goal-of-the-season contender against Falkirk last weekend and followed that up with another cracker in Perth. He controlled a fine knockdown from Kyogo before controlling and firing a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. The Portuguese under-21 midfielder has gathered a reputation for being a player of industry and graft. He also has the guile and the craft and is a product of one of the finest football academies in European football - the Benfica academy. Bernardo could well prove to be a snip and shrewd piece of business by Celtic in the summer. It's easy to see why Rodgers wanted him back as he is a vital cog in that engine room.

King Kuhn keeps chalking up some incredible stats this season

That's 12-goal involvements for the German winger and we haven't even reached Hallowe'en yet! The sight of Kuhn dazzling down the left flank is a scary prospect at the best of times but the former prodigy is fast approaching career-best status. The ex-Bayern and Munich wideman looks like a different player from the one who joined Celtic in January. He tortured and terrorised Andre Raymond down his side of the park. He was also part of the three-man move that brought about Celtic's second and clinching goal for Bernardo after he fed Kyogo who headed the ball down into the path of the midfielder. A man-of-the-match cameo from the bench last weekend against Falkirk as well as another assist against St Johnstone, Kuhn is living his best life in green and white right now. How the German must be relishing the prospect of Tuesday night's Champions League trip to his native country to take on Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Kuhn is one of the role models of consistency in this new-look Celtic side whose bar appears to be set incredibly high under Rodgers.

Kasper Schmeichel equals a league shut-out record

Take a bow Kasper Schmeichel. The Great Dane was virtually a spectator as he equalled the most consecutive league clean sheets record as he made it six out of six. It's the first time this has been achieved since 1906/07. So, Schmeichel enters the club's history books barely three months after joining the club. The shot-stopper kept his concentration levels up as he dived to his left and saved well after Aaron Essel had fired in a low effort. It is a fine achievement for the No.1.  Not only that one more clean sheet away to Ross County would see this team and Schmeichel own the record outright. Schmeichel's glove affair with Celtic is already up and running and shows no sign of abating any time soon. Next stop Dingwall!