Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers hailed Ryan Christie's "sensational" showing after the attacker came off the bench to inspire the Hoops to victory over Hearts.

Christie replaced Olivier Ntcham, who has a tight hamstring, at half-time with the scores at deadlock and made his presence felt in the second half by scoring one and playing his part in two more goals as Celtic won 3-0.

The 23-year-old has struggled for game time since returning from an 18 month loan deal at Aberdeen but his manager believes he's now ready to make an impact at Parkhead.

Rodgers, who was unwilling to put a timeline on when Leigh Griffiths will return to action, said: "Scott Sinclair was excellent when he came into the game, from that point on we started to go forward more.

"Ryan Christie was sensational really - his intensity, quality, pressing, everything.

"The penalty, Craig might think it's a bit soft but Willie (Collum) is in a great position.

"From that point on, we were absolutely brilliant."

Former Inverness prospect Christie is in the final year of his Celtic deal, but Rodgers would have no qualms about extending the playmaker's stint in Glasgow.

Asked if he'd like to keep Christie long-term, he added: "Absolutely, he's a fantastic player.

"It's all step-by-step but he's now 23, he's at a good age to come in and has the personality to play for a big club.

"He can make a valuable contribution for us."

Celtic came into the match off the back of defeat to Leipzig on Thursday and behind the Jam Tarts in the Premiership table.

Rodgers praised his team's ability to always respond to losses after they bounced back to book their spot in a fifth straight domestic cup final.

The Northern Irishman continued: "We lack some characteristics in Europe that could help us.

"But no matter the result, we recover well.

"It's understanding why you want to do it and the purpose for us was to reach another cup final.

"We knew it was going to be tough but when we bring our game we can be a threat to any team."