O'Neill able to sit back as Sutton and Sylla run the show

Celtic 2 Parma 1

A week before the curtain goes up on another Scottish season, a check yesterday revealed that Celtic can rely on the list of usual suspects. Martin O'Neill may not have been in his dugout, but that was no cause for alarm. The manager had not defected to Leeds, he was simply in the Parkhead stand and must have enjoyed the way Chris Sutton tore Parma to pieces as this friendly put the finishing touches to the pursuit of a third successive title.

Celtic's midweek defeat in another friendly by Ajax had been a personal disaster for Sutton, whose limitations as a central defender were exposed, but O'Neill returned the striker to his more familiar role alongside Henrik Larsson with ruthless effect.

Barely eight minutes had elapsed when a long ball by Jackie McNamara down the right saw Parma's two new defenders, Vratislav Gresko and Daniele Bonera, completely bemused by Larsson's dummy. The Swede showed his customary vision after bursting into the box and cutting the ball back for Sutton who swept a left-foot shot beyond Parma keeper Sebastian Frey.

While the shirt-sleeved crowd were able to sit back and enjoy proceedings in much the same leisurely fashion as those supporters in their living-rooms who were taking this game as part of Celtic's new pay-per-view television service, the same could not be said of Frey.

The man who is the heir, though not hair, apparent to Fabien Barthez as France's goalkeeper underlined why after 34 minutes with a spectacular one-handed save to deny Larsson's header after Neil Lennon and Sutton had sweetly exchanged passes.

Even Frey was unable to get a touch to Momo Sylla's backpost header four minutes later, which thumped off the underside of the bar and would have crossed the line had it not been for the vigilant Aimo Diana, and Parma were grateful for the respite offered by the interval.

Parma are still a month away from the start of the Serie A campaign and failed to match Celtic's initial zest but the Italian side showed a greater appetite in the second half with Marco Di Viao a constant threat.

However, it was Sylla who found the net to double Celtic's lead in the 70th minute. Steve Guppy's cross was knocked down by the robust Sutton allowing Sylla and substitute David Fernandez to fight for the loose ball before the former squeezed his close-range shot past Frey.

It required some ham acting to secure Parma any consolation, and the substitute Emiliano Bonazzoli contributed a ludicrous dive in stoppage time which allowed Di Viao to convert a somewhat debatable penalty.

Celtic 2
Sutton 8, Sylla 70

Parma 1
Di Viao 90

Half-time 1-0 Attendance: 26,948