Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
Inter 3-1 Parma: Mkhitaryan stars as hosts extend unbeaten run
Inter moved to within a point of Serie A leaders Napoli after easing to a 3-1 win over Parma at the San Siro, extending their unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions.
Simone Inzaghi's side moved up to 31 points after 14 games of their season, but Napoli could restore their four-point cushion over Inter with victory over Lazio on Sunday.
Inter were awarded a penalty with eight minutes on the clock after Mandela Keita clipped the heels of Lautaro Martinez, but after a VAR review, it was changed to a free-kick.
But the hosts found themselves in front five minutes before the break when Federico Dimarco sensationally took the ball on his back foot before firing past Zion Suzuki.
Inter doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute through Nicolo Barella, who picked up Henrikh Mkhitaryan's through ball before sitting down Emanuele Valeri, staying composed to roll the ball confidently home.
The victory was sealed just after the hour-mark when Yann Bisseck flicked Hakan Calhanoglu's corner to Thuram, who volleyed home his 10th league goal of the season.
Parma did, however, net a late consolation when Matteo Darmian tussled with Dennis Man following Hernani's ball forward, only for the former Manchester United defender to inadvertently bundle the ball beyond Yann Sommer.
Data Debrief: Mkhitaryan masterclass
Inter have now scored at least three goals in a Serie A match for the seventh time this season, with only Paris Saint-Germain (nine), Bayern Munich and Barcelona (both eight) scoring three or more goals more often than the Nerazzurri.
But their victory was inspired by the brilliance of Mkhitaryan, with the Armenian notching the assists for Dimarco and Barella on Friday.
Since his arrival at Inter in 2022, only Charles De Ketelaere and Luis Alberto (both 14) have registered more assists than Mkhitaryan (12), while he also created more chances (four) than any other player on the pitch during the game.
Al-Ittihad 2-1 Al-Nassr: Bergwijn nets last-gasp winner for leaders
Steven Bergwijn's last-gasp winner earned Al-Ittihad a huge victory in their quest for the Saudi Pro League title, beating Al-Nassr 2-1 at King Abdullah Sports City on Friday.
Karim Benzema had given the hosts a 55th-minute lead before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled two minutes later, but Bergwijn struck the decisive blow in second half stoppage time.
In a tepid opening 45 minutes, clear-cut chances were hard to come by, with Bergwijn and Benzema going closest for the hosts, but unable to trouble Bento.
However, Al-Ittihad got themselves in front shortly after the break when Muhannad Al Shanqiti picked out Benzema, with the Frenchman on hand to tuck the ball home.
But the hosts' joy was short-lived after Angelo saw his effort cleared off the line by Danilo Pereira, before the Brazilian laid the ball back to Ronaldo to level the scoring.
With the game looking to end all square, Al-Ittihad stole the three points at the death as Bergwijn cut inside before curling a right-footed effort into the far-left corner.
The result moved Al-Ittihad three points clear at the summit, though Al-Hilal can go level with them with a win over Al-Raed on Saturday. Al-Nassr, meanwhile, stayed in fourth.
Data Debrief: Bergwijn bursts Ronaldo's bubble
Al-Ittihad have often been second best in their encounters with Al-Nassr, but they earned an impressive victory against Ronaldo's side, though it may not have been deserved.
They managed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.66 from their 11 shots compared to Al-Nassr's 1.2 from the same number of attempts.
Benzema also ended his goal drought against Al-Nassr, having failed to score against them in his previous game against them. The former Madrid striker ended the game with a team-high xG of 0.36, while also having more shots (seven) and touches in the opposition box (four) than any of his team-mates.
Al-Ittihad have now won their last nine league matches, their second-longest streak in the competition after 10 wins between October 2021 and February 2022, while also triumphing in their eighth-straight home match in the Pro League.
Celtic go seven points clear of Aberdeen after narrow win
Reo Hatate secured Celtic a narrow 1-0 victory over second-placed Aberdeen, sending them seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
The Japanese international struck in the 78th minute, meeting Greg Taylor's pass over the top to rifle the winner into the bottom corner.
In a tight first half, Duk was denied by Kasper Schmeichel before Alistair Johnson's header was turned narrowly past the post by Jamie McGrath.
Paulo Bernardo thought he had given Celtic the lead when he scored directly from a corner, though the goal was ruled out due to a foul on Ross Doohan.
Ester Sokler had the opportunity to equalise late on, only for Cameron Carter-Vickers to turn his effort over the bar as Celtic kept an 11th clean sheet of the season.
Meanwhile, Rangers continued their recent run of fine form with a 6-0 thrashing of Kilmarnock.
It was their second win by that scoreline this season, having also beaten Ross County on matchday three, with James Tavernier opening the scoring in the 37th minute with his first goal of the campaign.
Philippe Clement's side turned up the heat after the break, with two goals in two minutes from Danilo and Hamza Igamane putting them 3-0 up.
Vaclav Cerny then drove a reverse shot into the back of the net shortly after the hour mark before substitute Cyriel Dessers scored two first-time goals to move Rangers just four points behind Aberdeen with a game in hand.
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