Hearts 0-5 Celtic

(Sinclair 24, 27, 85 pen. Armstrong 55, Roberts 62)

- Mark Henderson

SCOTT Sinclair hammered in a hat-trick as Celtic ruthlessly swept aside Hearts 5-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday to seal a sixth successive championship in style and, remarkably, without defeat.

Sinclair’s quick-fire double had the Hoops in charge at the break, despite the best efforts of the home side. Fabulous finishes from Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts in the second half ensured Brendan Rodgers’ side would harvest the three points they needed to cross the finishing line.

And there was still time for Sinclair to claim his hat-trick and notch up his 21st goal of the season from the penalty spot after he was felled in the box by Krytian Nowak.

It crowned off yet another dominant display from the champions, and it was a fitting way to clinch the prize in a league campaign in which they have achieved astonishing levels of consistency and produced some scintillating attacking football.

The Bhoys’ victory over Hearts stretched their domestic unbeaten run since the start of the season to 37 matches, eclipsing a 100-year-old club record.

And they clinched the championship with eight games to spare, having won 28 times and drawn twice – an extraordinary record.

Celtic made a brisk start in the spring sunshine and Callum McGregor had the ball in the net inside the opening two minutes after a slick interchange of passes but the offside flag cut short the celebrations.