Dembele has now scored six goals in his last five games, and 10 this season
Moussa Dembele's brace helped Celtic thrash Kilmarnock to extend their Premiership lead to five points.
Killie striker Souleymane Coulibaly opened the scoring with a sensational 35-yard strike from the left touchline.
But Dembele side-footed home Mikael Lustig's pass and then swept in Kieran Tierney's cut-back in short order.
James Forrest slotted the third, Leigh Griffiths claimed the fourth, Scott Sinclair dispatched a penalty before Tom Rogic added a sixth late on.
Coulibaly stuns Celtic
Celtic were camped in the Killie half before Coulibaly suckered them.
The Ivorian striker tried his luck from about 35 yards out, his ambitious effort arcing over Dorus De Vries' head and into the back of his net.
Kilmarnock celebrate Souleymane Coulibaly's wonder strike - a contender for goal of the season?
Credit Coulibaly for having the vision to try it and the accuracy to pull it off - some of his goals this season have been truly wonderful - but De Vries was desperately slack.
The Dutchman was replaced at the break, Craig Gordon coming on.
A chest injury did for De Vries, but his reputation as a goalkeeper of substance took another hit here.
Dembele steps up - again
Celtic's response to Coulibaly's opener was thunderous. Six more goals to add to the goal mountain they are constructing in domestic football this season.
Where previously Killie were denying them by throwing their bodies in front of every shot, Celtic soon became lethal.
Three minutes after Coulibaly's goal, Lustig found Dembele, who slid home the equaliser. Three minutes after that, Kieran Tierney provided the assist, Dembele rifling a left-foot shot high beyond Jamie MacDonald.
That was Dembele's 10th goal of the season in what was only his seventh start, and his sixth goal in his last five games.
The question for Brendan Rodgers now is who starts against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday - the free-scoring youngster or the previous go-to man, Leigh Griffiths, who returned from injury here as a second-half substitute for Dembele.
Brendam Rodgers has selection questions up front and at goalkeeper after Dorus de Vries was beaten by Souleymane Coulibaly's strike
Celtic turn on after-burners
Killie were toiling at 3-1 after James Forrest strolled in to score the third from close range early in the second half.
They could have done without the sight of Griffiths coming on as a substitute. He looked sharp and hungry and within a few minutes of appearing, he popped up to flick on Jozo Simunovic's header to score his eighth of the season.
The fifth came soon enough. Griffiths was tripped in the box by Greg Taylor and the striker generously handed the ball to Sinclair to put away his sixth goal in six straight league matches.
What a devastating impact Sinclair has had in his early months in Scotland.
There was a sixth, a dribbler from Rogic that eluded MacDonald.
By then, Coulibaly's wonder strike seemed like a distant memory. It was blown into irrelevance by another unrelenting Celtic league performance.
- Published24 September 2016
- Published24 September 2016
- Published24 September 2016
- Published24 September 2016
