Under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou, who had already led the Bhoys to victories in the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup, Celtic initially struggled to find their rhythm. However, goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, and Jota sealed the triumph against Caley Thistle, who managed a consolation goal through Daniel MacKay's late header.
The ongoing speculation surrounding their manager, who is widely regarded as the front-runner for the Tottenham Hotspur job, appeared to have an impact on Celtic's performance. They found it challenging to establish their dominance in the early stages of the match. Although they enjoyed the majority of possession, Postecoglou's men created only a handful of half-chances as Inverness' resolute defense stood firm.
Nonetheless, the prolific Furuhashi needed just one opportunity to make a breakthrough, and with 38 minutes played, Celtic finally broke Inverness' resistance. Matt O'Riley made a bursting run down the right side of the box and delivered a cutback to Furuhashi, who made a clever near-post run and dispatched a first-time strike into the roof of the net.
With that goal, the Japanese striker reached an impressive tally of 34 goals for the season. He had a chance to make it 35 just three minutes later when he latched onto a pass from Reo Hatate, but his attempt at an outside-of-the-boot finish veered wide of the post.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the first, with Celtic patiently seeking openings in Inverness' defensive line, but initially with limited success. The Championship side, in their pursuit of an equalizer, also struggled to find inspiration.
In the 65th minute, however, Postecoglou's team wore down Inverness once again. Callum McGregor played a square pass for Abada, who tapped in from close range. The goal was confirmed after a lengthy VAR review for a potential offside incident.
With Inverness lacking attacking ideas and posing little threat to Joe Hart, the Celtic faithful anticipated a comfortable finish. Yet, in the 84th minute, Wallace Duffy delivered a superb cross from the right flank, and MacKay's powerful header beat Hart, offering Billy Dodds's men a glimmer of hope. However, that hope would be short-lived, as in the opening minutes of added time, Abada's deep cross to the back post found Jota, who controlled the ball with his chest and guided it into the far corner, evading the presence of three Caley Thistle defenders. This restored Celtic's two-goal advantage, sparking the celebrations for the treble-winning team in white and green.
Celtic now boasts a remarkable tally of 41 Scottish Cup titles, while Inverness experienced their first-ever defeat in a final after their previous victory over Falkirk in the 2015 showpiece match.
