Shunsuke Nakamura scored a 15-minute hat trick to lead Scottish champion Celtic to a 4-1 win at Dundee United.

Nakamura scored in the 44th, 48th and 58th minutes after Noel Hunt had put Dundee United ahead in the fifth minute.

``Only good players can do what he does and start the game poorly and have the mentality to come back,'' Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said. ``A lot of players can start badly and get worse. But Paul Telfer and Neil Lennon alongside him allow him to play.''

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored Celtic's other goal in the 52nd.

``For a period in the second half, I thought we were untouchable,'' Strachan said.

Celtic has 25 points after 10 matches, six more than second-place Hearts, which plays Edinburgh rival Hibernian on Sunday.

Rangers stayed third but fell 10 points behind Celtic after its 1-0 loss at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Lionel Letizi _ who started in goal after Allan McGregor was dropped _ contributed to the loss. He couldn't hold a shot by Craig Dargo and Graham Bayne scored from the rebound in the 71st minute.

In other results, it was: Falkirk 1, St. Mirren 1; Kilmarnock 1, Aberdeen 0; and Motherwell 2, Dunfermline 1.