Celtic have one foot in the Champions League group stage after Scott Sinclair's double inspired a 5-0 thrashing of Astana in the first leg of their play-off round tie on Wednesday
Evgeny Postnikov turned Tom Rogic's shot into his own net after 32 minutes and Sinclair followed up with goals either side of half-time to put the home side in control at a rocking Celtic Park
James Forrest added a fourth in the 79th minute and Leigh Griffiths' late shot was deflected in by Igor Shitov as Celtic all-but assured their progress even before the return leg in Kazakhstan on August 22
It was a clinical display from Brendan Rodgers' side on a night when they only had three shots on target, but managed to keep Kazakh champions Astana at bay throughout
The hosts could have been 2-0 ahead in the opening 10 minutes as Sinclair swiped a shot over from six yards out and then Griffiths headed wide from close range from a free-kick
Although Astana looked composed in possession early on, they rarely threatened, and it was Celtic who went ahead after 32 minutes as Rogic broke through and saw his chipped shot turned in by Postnikov
The Astana defender spurned a glorious chance to score at the right end just a couple of minutes later when he missed the target with a header from six yards out
And Celtic finished the half in charge as the ball broke through for Sinclair and he shot into the bottom corner
Sinclair added a third on the hour mark, finishing well after the referee allowed play to continue despite Rogic and Yuriy Logvinenko both being knocked to the ground by a clash of heads
Griffiths sliced wide shortly afterwards from a good position inside the box, but made amends by playing a part in the fourth and fifth goals
First he played in Forrest to fire into the corner before hitting a low shot which deflected in off Shitov in the 89th minute to seal an emphatic win
Astana managed to shackle Sinclair in the early exchanges, but the winger became more and more involved and integral after scoring Celtic's second goal before half-time
He finished well on the hour mark to make it 3-0 and continued to look threatening as the home side ran Astana ragged in the second half
Celtic travel to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, live on , before going to Kazakhstan to face Astana for the return leg next Tuesday
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>