Celtic’s ruthless display against Kilmarnock has been underlined by a remarkable set of Opta statistics from their 5-1 Rugby Park victory.
5 – Celtic have scored five goals inside the opening two minutes of Scottish Premiership matches since the start of the 2023-24 season, the most of any team.
Instant. pic.twitter.com/ZcDilsVgWj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 9, 2026
Martin O’Neill had demanded a “big improvement” following the narrow opening-day 1-0 win over Dundee and his players delivered an emphatic response in Ayrshire.
Kasper Høgh set the tone by opening the scoring after just 65 seconds as Celtic produced a far more aggressive attacking performance.
Opta revealed the Hoops have now scored five goals inside the opening two minutes of Scottish Premiership matches since the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign, more than any other side in the division.
But Celtic’s attacking numbers across the entire match were even more impressive.
O’Neill’s side generated 5.6 expected goals during the 5-1 victory – their highest xG total in a single Premiership fixture since Opta’s records began in 2019/20.
5.6 – @CelticFC created 5.6 xG against Kilmarnock this afternoon, their most on record in a Scottish Premiership match (since 2019-20).
Intent. pic.twitter.com/LccbRCMpuj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 9, 2026
The numbers underline the significant improvement O’Neill demanded as Celtic made it six points from six to start their title defence.
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