Celtic's mauling of Hearts eliminated many of the question marks hanging over Martin O'Neill's side, but one significant question remains: what does Sunday's seven-goal victory tell us about record signing Kasper Hogh's place in the team?
Benched for the visit of last season's Scottish Premiership runners-up, a dynamic front three of Camilo Duran, Callum Osmand and Haissem Hassan were integral to a scintillating attacking display. In the aftermath of last Thursday's chastening Europa League defeat at Benfica, during which Hogh was hooked at half-time, O'Neill backed the 25-year-old to end the campaign with 20 goals. But is the £11m man now fighting for a starting spot?
Hogh has scored in just one of his 12 Celtic appearances, a hat-trick at Kilmarnock in August, and O'Neill acknowledges his marquee summer acquisition is low on confidence. "He has lost a bit of confidence, but we will get that back during the course of time," the veteran boss said. Hogh did come off the bench to set up Benjamin Nygren for Celtic's seventh goal, but former midfielder Scott Allan was blunt: "If I'm a creative player and I've got Duran and Hogh to pick from, I'm taking Duran every day of the week."
Duran, the standout of Celtic's summer arrivals, moved into the centre of the attack after Hogh was brought off in Lisbon, and the same front three started and finished Sunday's match. An Osmand double gave the champions a 5-1 half-time lead, while Duran's ninth goal of the campaign was one of two Celtic goals after the break.
Sunday's emphatic victory has gone some way towards settling the debate, at least for now. BBC Scotland pundit Andy Halliday said: "For me, it doesn't" involve Hogh in the best attack, though he added that "there's no doubt there's a goalscorer in there with Hogh" given his Champions League record. Celtic's best forward line currently appears to be one that does not include their record signing.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing