Scottish champions Celtic maintained their handsome nine-point advantage at the summit with a commanding 3-0 win over Livingston on Wednesday evening, with the Old Firm outfit continuing to march on in the defence of their title.

While bitter rivals Rangers have enjoyed an unbeaten run under new boss Michael Beale since the Englishman's appointment back in November, that has mattered little in truth with the Hoops having hardly broken stride of late, with last night's performance once again a reminder of the devastating attacking quality that Ange Postecoglou's side possess.

In what was a remarkable first-half display from the hosts at Parkhead, goals from Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi made sure of the points inside the opening 45 minutes, with opposition boss David Martindale quipping that he had been "trying to get an Uber" out of Glasgow at the interval, such was the rampant nature of the home side's performance.

While much of the plaudits will go to Postecoglou's forward line for having so ruthlessly dispatched the West Lothian outfit in that breathtaking spell before the break, a word must also be said on the club's defensive unit, having once again recorded a shut-out.

The most notable figure among that backline was United States international, Cameron Carter-Vickers, with the imposing colossus having been something of a rock on the night, after producing 'another dominating performance' - in the words of Glasgow Live's Will Lancaster.

That immense showing saw the former Tottenham Hotspur man - who has now kept 11 clean sheets in 21 league appearances this season - win 100% of his aerial duels, while also recording three clearances and two interceptions in total.

Not just an almost impenetrable presence defensively, the 25-year-old also showed his class on the ball as he enjoyed a stunning 92% pass accuracy rate from his 108 touches, having lost the ball on just ten occasions.

The 12-cap maestro also registered one key pass as a marker of his forward-thinking approach at the heart of the defence, with that all-round performance having unsurprisingly warranted a solid 7.4 match rating, as per Sofascore.

The Southend-born powerhouse was also lauded by Celtic Way's Tony Haggerty, with the Hoops journalist awarding the centre-back an 8/10 match rating, while stating: 'Strolled through proceedings and you almost felt heart sorry for lone Livi striker Bruce Anderson who got no change out of the USA international all evening. He read everything superbly well and his concentration levels are excellent. He is a formidable presence at the back of the pack.'

Formidable is indeed the word to describe Carter-Vickers' impact at Celtic Park over the last 18 months or so, with the reported £6m fee that it took to make the defender's deal permanent over the summer already looking like something of a bargain.