Daizen Maeda secured a hat-trick as Celtic ended Aberdeen’s unbeaten run in emphatic style in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. Celtic netted five goals within half an hour at Hampden Park, before Maeda completed a 6-0 rout late on, handing Jimmy Thelin his first defeat as Aberdeen manager.

Aberdeen supporters travelled to Glasgow hopeful of witnessing their side overcome Celtic at the national stadium for the first time since 1992. However, they saw their team thoroughly dismantled on either side of half-time.

Cameron Carter-Vickers opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a header from a corner, after a slow and scrappy start to the game that quickly shifted in Celtic’s favour.

Maeda provided the assist for Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal, doubling Celtic’s lead, while Nicolas Kuhn also found the net, sending Celtic through to the final on 15th December, where they will face the winners of Sunday’s clash between Motherwell and Rangers.

The Dons entered the game on the back of an impressive record, having won 15 matches and drawn one under Thelin, with a 21-match unbeaten streak since their penalty shootout loss to Celtic at Hampden in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-finals.

A 2-2 draw at Celtic Park two weeks prior and a midweek victory over Rangers, which placed the Dons nine points clear of the Light Blues, had kept Thelin’s men competitive in the Scottish Premiership.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers welcomed the challenge from Aberdeen on the eve of the game, asserting that such competition would aid his team’s development. His prediction was swiftly realised, as he extended his flawless record at Hampden Park.

Aberdeen fielded an unchanged side from the team that defeated Rangers, with Duk and Ester Sokler starting after their impactful half-time appearances at Parkhead, which helped overturn a two-goal deficit.

For Celtic, Auston Trusty and Alex Valle started in defence, with Greg Taylor and Liam Scales relegated to the substitutes’ bench.

Kick-off was delayed by 13 minutes due to visibility issues for the VAR technology, caused by pre-match pyrotechnic displays from both sets of fans.

The game got off to a sluggish start, with Arne Engels and Jamie McGrath both shooting high over the bar in the early exchanges.

Carter-Vickers broke the deadlock, rising to head in Engels' corner. Celtic swiftly doubled their advantage on the counter-attack just three minutes later, as Maeda intercepted a pass intended for Slobodan Rubezic. After receiving the ball back from Kuhn, Maeda sidestepped Jack MacKenzie and goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to tee up Furuhashi, who scored off the underside of the bar.

The third goal came in the 40th minute, also on the break. Kuhn played a superb through ball to Maeda, who slipped past Nicky Devlin and coolly slotted home.

Referee Kevin Clancy booked Rodgers before half-time, following a light-hearted exchange when the Celtic manager accidentally slipped while kicking the ball out of the technical area after a Celtic passing sequence broke down.

Celtic resumed their dominance in the second half, scoring within four minutes. Kuhn ran from midfield, dribbled into the box, and saw his shot saved, but Maeda was on hand to slot home the rebound.

McGrath managed Aberdeen’s only shot on target, though his weak attempt rolled harmlessly into Kasper Schmeichel’s hands.

Celtic maintained their ruthless form when Engels set up Kuhn 15 yards out. Despite facing a wall of Aberdeen players, Kuhn curled a precise shot off the bar and into the net.

Aberdeen nearly scored a consolation midway through the second half when Sokler narrowly missed MacKenzie’s cross with a header.

However, Celtic had the final word as Maeda tapped in Alistair Johnston’s cross with five minutes remaining, sealing a dominant victory.