Scottish champions Celtic continued their rampant and relentless surge toward the title with a dominant, 4-1 triumph over relegation strugglers Kilmarnock on Sunday afternoon, with Ange Postecoglou's Bhoys romping to victory following a remarkable opening blitz at Rugby Park.
While aided by some frankly comical defending from the hosts, the Parkhead outfit found themselves with a four-goal lead before even reaching the half-hour mark, having also spurned the chance to bolster that lead even further as top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi struck the post from the spot.
Although the Hoops could not go on to really rub salt in the wounds as Derek McInnes' men stood firm after the break, the damage had been well and truly done in the opening exchanges, with midfield maestro Matt O'Riley pulling the strings in the centre of the park.
The former MK Dons man was "so dominant" at both ends of the pitch – according to journalist Josh Bunting – having showcased his attacking prowess after scoring twice and registering four key passes in his 68-minute outing, while the 22-year-old also won five ground duels to illustrate his ability to do the hard yards defensively.
That "immense" performance from the Denmark U21 international, in the words of Glasgow World's Lewis Anderson, ultimately earned the silky ace a standout match rating of 9.5, as per Sofascore, as he seemingly looked back to his best after a 'quiet' display against Rangers last week, according to Football Scotland's Mark Hendry.
For all the brilliance of the £12k-per-week magician, however, it was perhaps the performance of defender Yuki Kobayashi that particularly caught the eye, with the January arrival certainly making the most of what was just his second Scottish Premiership start for the Bhoys.
How did Kobayashi perform against Forest?
It has been a rather muted start to life in Glasgow for young Kobayashi, with the 22-year-old having now made just four appearances in all competitions in his new home, after arriving from J-League side Vissel Kobe in the winter.
Having been unable to dislodge the starting, centre-back pairing of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers in recent months, the absence of the latter man yesterday provided an opportune time to impress, as the United States international was left out due to concerns over the artificial pitch.
While chances have been few and far between for Kobayashi to date under Postecoglou, the £620k-rated Japanese rock certainly stepped up to the mark against Killie, having been 'composed in everything he did', according to Celtic Way's Tony Haggerty.
As journalist Stuart Hodge noted, both the defender and compatriot Tomoki Iwata were "magnificent" with regard to their passing, with the younger man notably completing 121 of his 130 passes on the day, losing possession just nine times from his 138 touches.
The 6 foot 1 ace showed himself to be a truly 'comfortable and elegant defender' – as per Haggerty – as he completed all seven of his long balls as a marker of his ability to play out from the back, while also winning eight of his 14 total duels to illustrate his defensive dominance.
That strong showing – which earned the left-footer a solid 7.5 match rating, as per Sofascore – earned notable praise from Postecoglou who suggested that the recent addition has "hardly put a foot wrong" to date, while also hinting that Kobayashi could be ready to challenge the likes of Starfelt and Carter-Vickers moving forward.
On the evidence of yesterday's display, that latter duo best beware…