The visitors raced in to a four-goal half-time lead through a Georgios Samaras double and strikes from Shaun Maloney and Scott McDonald – and the Lanarkshire side looked down and out.

Two goals in a two-minute spell after the break from John Sutton and David Clarkson gave some hope to the home side but in the end, Celtic’s impressive first-half performance was enough to see them through.

Celtic had lost their impetus but with a two-goal lead, the points still seemed secure.

In the 78th minute Boruc produced a brilliant reflex save from a Clarkson header seconds before Porter failed to connect properly in front of goal, the ball skidding wide of the target.

Motherwell, though, lost belief in the final minutes and Celtic ran out comfortable winners, deserving the three points for their first-half performance alone.