Celtic secures third straight league title in Scotland and stays on course for a trophy double

KILMARNOCK, Scotland (AP) — Celtic clinched a third straight Scottish league title with a game to spare on Wednesday.

A 5-0 win at Kilmarnock gave Celtic an unassailable six-point lead over fierce Glasgow rival Rangers.

It’s the first silverware of Brendan Rodgers’ second spell in charge and moved Celtic onto 54 league titles — one behind Rangers’ record total in Scotland.

Celtic could also secure a league-and-cup double because it plays Rangers on the Scottish Cup final on May 25.

Celtic had fallen behind in the title race in February despite being seven points clear of Rangers after Rodgers’ first seven league matches back in charge.

But the team got back into first place midway through April and Wednesday’s triumph at Rugby Park made it 22 points from the last eight games.

“It was so good and it was a joy to watch. To make us champions, I’m so proud,” said Rodgers, who won a treble of trophies in each of his first two seasons in charge in his first spell from 2016-19.