Odsonne Edouard grabbed a stunning hat-trick as Celtic cruised to a 5-1 Premiership win against Motherwell at Parkhead. The 19-year-old striker, on loan from Paris St-Germain, was one of six changes made by Brendan Rodgers with an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League game against Anderlecht. Edouard struck from close range in the 16th minute and then from the edge of the box before the break.

In the third meeting between the clubs in a week, Motherwell’s half-time substitute Elliott Frear scored against the run of play in the 65th minute but the Celtic sub James Forrest restored the home side’s two-goal advantage and then completed the rout after Edouard added a fourth with six minutes remaining. The champions extended their unbeaten domestic run to 67 games to go seven points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the table.

With his fellow Frenchman Moussa Dembélé working his way back from an ankle injury and Leigh Griffiths starting on the bench, Edouard led the line with Jonny Hayes, Kristofer Ajer, Olivier Ntcham, Tom Rogic and Scott Sinclair also back.

The home side took the lead with their first real chance. Ntcham set up Sinclair and his cut-back from the byline was tapped in from six yards by Edouard for his first goal at Celtic Park in his third start.

His second in the 33rd minute was just as straightforward, taking a Rogic pass and approaching the Motherwell penalty area before driving through the legs of the back-tracking Motherwell stand-in captain, Peter Hartley, and into the far corner. The Celtic captain, Scott Brown, had earlier been booked for a foul on Louis Moult and he then had to come off for treatment to his face after a challenge by the Motherwell striker amid signs that the game could boil over.

Four minutes from the break Rogic had the ball in the Motherwell net but a very late flag by the assistant referee ruled it out, to the anger of the home fans.

Carl McHugh and Frear came on for the start of the second half but Celtic continued to dominate. Edouard headed a Sinclair cross wide from eight yards before Hayes, an endless source of danger down the right, scuffed an effort wide and the Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson kept out a Mikael Lustig drive. In the 64th minute Carson made an unorthodox save from an Ntcham free-kick before Tierney hammered the rebound wide.

It all appeared easy enough for Celtic but they were stunned a minute later when, in a rare Fir Park attack, Frear stabbed in a Richard Tait cross from inside the six-yard box. Rodgers brought on Callum McGregor and Forrest and in the 75th minute the latter cut in on to his left foot inside the box before firing into the far corner.

Carson tipped a Forrest shot over the bar before, in the 84th minute, Tait’s headed back-pass to his keeper was pounced on by Edouard who slipped it past Carson. And there was still time for Forrest to bend in a fifth.

After the match Rodgers hit out at Motherwell’s hierarchy after the Lanarkshire club issued a statement in which they revealed they had sought answers from the Scottish Football Association about contentious penalty decisions in the previous two matches against Celtic. The statement also said they would probe alleged acts of vandalism in the away stand at Fir Park.

“There was a debate around the honesty and professionalism of the Celtic players and also a question asked of the supporters,” Rodgers said. “It is not a debate. These are players who have got to 67 games unbeaten because of their professionalism, their honesty and how they devote their life to their profession. Along with their supporters, they have been absolutely brilliant.”