Kilmarnock0

Celtic5

Decades from now the surviving members of the 12,460 gathered together at Rugby Park will be able to tell their children and their children's children a scarcely believable bedtime story of how they once watched Celtic win a match

5-0 without Henrik Larsson

scoring once.

And if they know their history, these loveable moppets will no doubt dismiss these reminisces as the first signs of senility but, scarcely credible though it seems just two days later, it did happen. Those whose knowledge of football does not extend beyond balance sheets and score sheets will presumably note that the Swede was on the field for 90 minutes and put it down as a bad day at the office; they would be wrong.

If anything, this match illustrated the genius of Larsson - and simultaneously underlined his value to Martin O'Neill's side, even more than his hat trick against Aberdeen the previous weekend. The fact is that Larsson was the most influential performer on view, playing a key role in each of Celtic's goals and generally emphasising the notion that he may be the most unselfish striker Scottish football has ever seen.

He may have been top scorer in each of his five full seasons at Parkhead - he was overtaken by Mark Viduka after breaking his leg against Lyon in 1999/2000 - and few people enjoy bulging nets more than Larsson does, but the root of his greatness lies in his understanding that football is essentially a team game. Thus his prodigious work rate is repeated uncomplainingly, week after week, for the greater good.

Larsson is not in this for self-gratification. He shares his abundant gifts with what social workers may describe as differently talented team-mates: who can forget the poignant sight of him passing up certain goals for himself in order to lay them on a plate for the hapless Harald Brattbakk?

There was more of the same on Saturday, with Celtic's fourth goal encapsulating Larsson's socialist approach to the people's game. With Celtic three up and only five minutes remaining, the result was already more of a foregone conclusion than Liza Minelli's latest divorce.

Yet Larsson refused to settle for that. Consequently, he set off on a lung-bursting run deep into his own half in order to win possession of a loose pass from Peter Canero. Having shrugged off one challenge, he swiftly transferred the ball to substitute Ross Wallace and the youngster's cross picked out Shaun Maloney, who controlled it on his chest before firing home into the corner.

Even then he wasn't finished, coaxing the rash challenge from Freddie Dindeleux for the last-minute penalty which Chris Sutton converted for his hat trick. Oddly, no mention was made of Larsson's contribution in the post-match interviews, not by his team-mates or by either manager. Perhaps we have become so inured to the consistency of his brilliance that it barely registers any more. That must be the only reason for him failing to win the SFWA Player of the Year award for 2002-03, a campaign which saw him claim 44 goals for the club and finish joint-top scorer in the UEFA Cup.

Having bagged a dozen already in what will be his final season in Scotland, his potency shows no sign of diminishing: just ask Kilmarnock.

Home fans were understandably upset at the soft penalty awarded for Stilian Petrov's theatrical tumble which followed the merest hint of contact from Gary McDonald but it was Larsson's audacious back-heeled pass which wrong-footed the Killie defence in the first place and allowed Sutton to claim his first goal of the day.

Larsson then released Michael Gray on the left and his cross was flicked on for John Hartson to direct his header over Frederic Dubourdeau. Sutton added the third, sidefooting home from Larsson's cutback.

Kilmarnock ought to have had a penalty of their own when Jackie McNamara tugged Colin Nish's shirt but though manager Jim Jefferies was entitled to feel aggrieved with referee Hugh Dallas (''Scotland's No.1? Not on that performance!''), he would only be masking the deficiencies of his own side if he believed the official was to blame for his team's pounding.

Martin O'Neill claimed afterwards to have fielded a flat back four but on-loan left-back Michael Gray's attacking instincts meant that, for the most part, Celtic's traditional

3-5-2 formation was effectively maintained.

It was the fourth consecutive Premierleague clean sheet for Magnus Hedman, who, at 1-0, produced a fine save to turn McDonald's drive behind. It was the only time the goalkeeper was called into action but that meant he was still busier than he had been in the previous fixtures against Aberdeen, Hearts and Rangers.

Celtic, of course, stuck five past Hearts three days before capitulating to Anderlecht in Brussels last month. With the Belgians on Champions League duty at Parkhead on Wednesday, O'Neill will be hoping history does not repeat itself. That was a rare off-night for Larsson, who will be keener than most to prove to these opponents that his display of profligacy at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium was hardly representative.