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Unrecognisable Celtic have moved on from line in sand as restocked arsenal fires once more Nygren excels and two debuts made as United crushed in cup clash Tannadice was the lowest Celtic sunk last season under Martin O'Neill, but there was to be no pain this time around. Celtic have won all 11 games since they were easily turned over 2-0 by Dundee United back in mid-March. This run allowed them to claim last season's Premiership title, the Scottish Cup and start this campaign with a bang. A line in the sand was drawn nearly five months ago. The defeat by United in early spring was played on a pitch akin to Broughty Ferry beach. On a pristine summer surface this time around, Celtic were comfortable 4-0 victors here to progress into the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. Celtic are unrecognisable from the flaky, powderpuff side of before. They now carry an arsenal capable of gunning down Scottish opposition with relative ease and will train their sights on LASK in the Champions League play-off on Wednesday. That is why the guts of £25 million has been spent on four new recruits over the past few weeks. Progressing to the latter stages of a domestic cup competition should be a near-certainty given the purchases; the wallet has been opened for continental assignments. Two of the new boys started in Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran, while this week's signings - winger Haissem Hassan and midfielder Mika Baur - appeared as second-half substitutes. The day belonged to Benjamin Nygren, however, who revelled in the No 10 role, scoring one goal and having a hand in two others. Celtic put their shooting boots on last weekend at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock while manager Martin O'Neill recovered from a "small procedure" and were 3-0 up by the interval. With the 74-year-old back in the dugout, this win was sparked by two goals between the 22nd and 24th minutes, giving last season's runners-up the leg-up they required. It was a strange old afternoon for United, who were without coveted star player Will Ferry due to a knock picked up in training. Despite his absence, they created good chances, hitting the post and bar five times. At the other end, they had no answer to Celtic's front line, and for the second match in a row they shipped four goals. A defensive reset is required ahead of next weekend's Dundee derby. The start of the match was competitive and United, who held Rangers to a 1-1 draw at home a fortnight ago, made life uncomfortable for the visitors with a high press and tenacious midfield play. Manager Jim Goodwin will lament his team's decisive three-minute period. The woodwork was struck twice in quick succession, first on 12 minutes when Julius Eskesen's grubber kick bounced off the post, and then on 15 minutes after Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo's errant ball out led to Emmanuel Agyei curling an effort off the same obstacle. Celtic took heed of the warning and moved ahead on 22 minutes. The goal was simple. Nygren put in an inswinging corner and Auston Trusty rushed to the near post ahead of Zac Sapsford and flicked it into the far corner of the net. The second goal had a whiff of contention about it. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain powered into the penalty area and squared the ball to Hogh, who tumbled under the attentions of Bert Esselink. The ball hit his arm and went into the path of Duran, who scooped it beyond a helpless Jack Walton. A VAR check decreed the handball incident not to be actionable. Hogh blazed over from close range before half time, spurning the chance to put the outcome beyond doubt. United returned after the break intent on eating into the deficit and came very close to doing so when Sapsford rattled the bar on 48 minutes and then Colby Donovan blocked a fierce strike from the same player. Celtic again dished out a heavy penalty. On the break, Sebastian Tounekti burst down the left flank, cut on to his right foot and guided the ball past Walton. The clock showed 54 minutes. United hit the woodwork again - this time via a Bert Esselink header - but Celtic were home and hosed. O'Neill was able to introduce Baur for his debut before the hour mark, a nice environment for the 22-year-old German to get some action. The next goal arrived on 62 minutes. Tounekti fed the ball into Nygren and the Swede launched an unstoppable shot high past Walton from just inside the penalty box. It was a lovely finish. Celtic fans were given their first sight of Hassan as he came on for Tounekti on 71 minutes. The game had descended into a training session, though - much to O'Neill's contentment ahead of the midweek Champions League date. United hit the bar once more on 90 minutes through Mehdi Merghem. It was not their day. Comments Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.