Celtic eventually blew away a stuffy Motherwell outfit to get back to winning ways as a second half blitz showed that the champions haven’t lost their scoring touch after all.

Having dropped points for just the second time this season at Tannadice last time out, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers would have warned his men there was no room for error here, despite their healthy lead at the top of the table.

There was a little anxiety creeping into the Celtic Park stands during a rather limp first half, but Arne Engels’ converted penalty on the stroke of half time was the catalyst for the roof caving in on the Steelmen.

Further goals from Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate - the latter two off the bench – gift wrapped an ultimately easy three points for Celtic on Boxing Day.

Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…

First half tale of two penalty claims

A largely forgettable opening period was notable really only for penalty claims at either end, with an animated Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell clearly feeling that his side had been handed the fuzzy end of the lollipop on both occasions by referee Ross Hardie and his VAR team.

First, Hyun-jun Yang was slack on the ball to allow Tawanda Maswanhise to steal in and charge towards the Celtic box. As Yang tried desperately to retrieve the situation, Maswanhise hit the deck with the Celtic winger at his back, but the official immediately produced the yellow card for the visiting player for simulation.

While a penalty may have been a harsh call given the level of contact (and on first viewing, the incident may well have taken place just outside the box, though let’s not go there again…), it also felt harsh for Maswanhise to be cautioned.

Then, as the first half trickled towards its conclusion, a cross from Paulo Bernardo was deflected high into the Motherwell area, and as the visiting defenders stood static and waited for Aston Oxborough to collect, Yang stole in before going to ground under contact from the keeper on his back.

Again, the contact was minimal, but referee Hardie deemed on this occasion that there was enough in the challenge just to put it the wrong side of the line from a Motherwell perspective.

Engels stepped up to tuck it away nicely, and Celtic Park roared in relief as a sticky opening 45 ended with their team in the lead.

Yang letting his chance pass him by

For all that Yang played a crucial part in Celtic’s opening goal, it was the bright spot of what was an otherwise largely frustrating performance from the winger after his ineffective showing at Tannadice last time out.

With Kuhn in such scintillating form so far this season, chances for Yang to shine are likely to be few and far between, but in these two starts owing to Kuhn’s injury, he hasn’t really been able to show anything to catch the eye.

Too often he drew groans from the stands as he was easily ushered off the ball by Ewan Wilson, or when running the ball out of play in promising positions.

There looks to be something in there for his manager Rodgers to work with, but Yang is a long way from knotting it all together. And the remoteness of his chances of another start any time soon were underlined as Kuhn came off the bench to score Celtic’s third, albeit with the aid of a deflection off Kofi Balmer.

Engels fares better though

Eyes will already be turning towards Celtic’s visit to Ibrox on January 2nd, and this game and the home fixture against St Johnstone on Sunday present an opportunity for some of those who aren’t nailed on starters to stake a claim to be involved in that huge encounter.

The midfield area particularly looks to be one where – with the obvious exception of Callum McGregor – there are spots up for grabs, and Engels will be hoping that his performance here can help him stake a claim.

Ok, he was hardly a standout in general play, but he tucked home the crucial opener from the spot on the stroke of half time with assurance, and it was his wicked in-swinging corner that was flicked on by Liam Scales at the front post for Maeda to bullet home Celtic’s second with a diving header.

He needs to do more to prove he is worth a regular starting place, never mind the fee Celtic paid for him, but he showed here that he possesses quality, and he received warm appreciation for his efforts from the crowd.

Lennon Miller can learn from McGregor

This game put one of Scottish football’s most exciting emerging talents up against one of its most reliable and accomplished performers, and it was no surprise really that McGregor got the better of the contest.

That’s not to say though that there weren’t flashes of ability from young Miller, but his detail on the day was always going to be geared towards the defensive side, while McGregor controlled things from the base of the Celtic midfield.

It would be interesting to see how Miller would fare in that Celtic midfield, and if the champions may be tempted to add him to their ranks if he keeps up his impressive form.

Hatate makes his own point

The Motherwell players must have been crestfallen at 2-0 down to see the likes of Kuhn and Hatate coming off the bench for Celtic, and after the winger had added a third, the midfielder curled home a delicious fourth from the edge of the box.

Hatate has been somewhat off the boil in recent weeks, but this was a reminder of the quality the Japanese possesses when he gets it right.