The returning Moussa Dembélé scored his first goal of the season as Celtic reaffirmed their domestic dominance with a crushing win over Ross County. Celtic moved two points clear of second-placed Aberdeen and five points clear of traditional rivals Rangers before the Old Firm derby at Ibrox next week

Celtic were crushed 5-0 at home by Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League opener on Tuesday but they were more at ease in this encounter, with Australia midfielder Tom Rogic driving them ahead in the 13th minute.

Three minutes from the break Dembélé, back for the first time since July after recovering from a hamstring injury, fired in Celtic’s second goal before the winger James Forrest added two more in the second half.

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Rodgers was always likely to reshuffle his side in the midst of a heavy schedule with Nir Bitton, Forrest, Rogic and Jonny Hayes also coming in along with Dembélé in a bold 3-1-4-2 formation which helped give the home side a stranglehold.

The opener came when Forrest took possession on the right before slipping the ball to Rogic, who drifted inside on to his left foot and from 20 yards fired a fizzing shot past County keeper Aaron McCarey.

There were chances for both sides before the treble-winners doubled their lead. In the 25th minute Stuart Armstrong’s deflected drive from 25 yards was saved by McCarey, Forrest missed the target from 12 yards after taking a Leigh Griffiths pass and the County striker Alex Schalk drove straight at Craig Gordon from 10 yards.

Five minutes from the break, the Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston moved forward and crashed a right-foot drive from 25 yards off the post. Moments later Dembélé took a Griffiths pass and from just inside the box curled a right-foot drive past McCarey into the far corner.

Jim McIntyre replaced Sean Kelly and Ross Draper with Tim Chow and Craig Curran for the start of the second half and five minutes after the restart the latter was played in by Marcus Fraser only to see his drive blocked by Gordon.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Celtic’s James Forrest gets away an effort on goal during Celtic’s victory over Ross County. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

The ball fell kindly to Davis Keillor-Dunn but he too failed to beat the goalkeeper with a powerful drive and within moments of that crucial double save the champions had scored a third. As Celtic swarmed around County’s penalty area, Rogic’s drive was parried by McCarey but only to Forrest, who knocked the ball in.

In the 73rd minute, moments after Griffiths had stung the hands of McCarey with a ferocious 20-yard strike, Forrest curled a shot from just inside the box into the far corner.

In the latter stages McCarey made two fine saves from the substitute Scott Sinclair, on for Griffiths, but by that time the Highlanders had suffered enough and Celtic’s pride had been restored.

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Brendan Rodgers told BBC Radio Scotland he was happy with the way Celtic bounced back after the PSG drubbing: “On the back end of a really tough game in midweek, it's the mark of a really good team that you can press the reset button and go again.

“First-half we were good without being slick. It was a good first goal from Tom, a great strike. In the second-half, we were better much better in control. Huge credit to the players, off the back of a really tough game against one of the top three sides in the world.”

McIntyre, defended his altered formation: “The reason we went with an extra defender was to try not to get cut open. I felt we didn't in the first half, but it meant that we were not as much of an attacking threat as I was looking for. Celtic were too good for us on the day. In the first half, we were far too passive. We were a bit braver in the second half. They've got such quality that if you switch off for a second you get punished.”

ROUNDUP

Aberdeen remain unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership but slipped further behind leaders Celtic thanks to a disappointing 1-1 draw against Kilmarnock.

The Dons started well and were worthy of Stevie May’s 10th-minute opener. But the home side took their foot off the gas after half-time, and Jordan Jones punished them when he lashed home the leveller early in the second half.

Dundee got their season up and running as A-Jay Leitch-Smith’s first two goals for the club earned an important 3-2 victory for Neil McCann’s side over St Johnstone.

Leitch-Smith, making his first start for the club, scored twice before Liam Craig hit the first of two penalties, while Sofien Moussa also scored from the spot. Darren O’Dea was sent off with eight minutes to go, allowing Craig to score his second as tensions mounted in the dugouts penalty, but McCann’s side held on to win and move off the bottom of the table.

Louis Moult scored two goals as Motherwell came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Hibs at Easter Road. Anthony Stokes had scored two himself, converting a 21st-minute penalty before pouncing on some slack defending to put Hibs in the ascendancy 12 minutes into the second half. But Moult, who earlier hit the woodwork, headed Well back in the game and made it 2-2 with an impressive strike 10 minutes later.

Hearts battled all the way to claim their first victory under Craig Levein with a 2-1 success at Hamilton’s SuperSeal Stadium. A Ross Callachan goal and Kyle Lafferty’s penalty put the visitors 2-0 up. Accies pulled a goal back in the second half through Rakish Bingham.

NIAL BRIGGS