GLASGOW (AFP) -- Shunsuke Nakamura curled in one of his trademark free-kicks as Celtic kicked off the defense of their Scottish Premier League title by strolling to a 4-1 win over Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday.

First-half goals from Polish striker Maciej Zurawski and Czech midfielder Jiri Jarosik, on his Parkhead debut, had put Celtic in control before Japan playmaker Nakamura, in his first competitive match since his country's first round exit from the World Cup, curled in a delightful 75th-minute effort from nearly 30 yards.

Some of the gloss was taken off the performance when a mix-up in the Celtic defense allowed Kilmarnock midfielder Steven Naismith to volley in an 84th-minute consolation goal for the visitors, but Zurawski tapped in his second of the afternoon in injury time to restore Celtic's three-goal advantage.

Barring a rusty opening quarter of an hour, there was enough quality in Celtic's performance to justify their status as favorites to retain their title, although next weekend's trip to Hearts will provide a more reliable measure of that than a one-paced Kilmarnock side could provide.

Three of Gordon Strachan's five summer signings were in the starting lineup; Gary Caldwell at center-back, Jarosik anchoring the midfield and former Rangers striker Kenny Miller leading the attack.

Caldwell's display was far from assured but Jarosik's capture, on a free transfer from Chelsea, looks a shrewd bit of business by Strachan, while Miller recovered from missing a glorious early chance to put on a lively display alongside Zurawski.

With half of Glasgow still on holiday, the champions' return to work had a lethargic feel about it with the lack of sharpness in front of goal that had blighted their preseason campaign in evidence early on.

Both Nakamura, who sliced Mo Camara's fine cross wide from beyond the back post, and Miller could have put Celtic ahead inside the first ten minutes.

Kilmarnock were particularly fortunate to see Miller shank the ball wide after Zurawski's deflected shot found him unmarked at the corner of the six-yard box.

The visitors might have capitalized on that break when Caldwell carelessly gifted possession and a clear run at goal to Naismith.

The Killie midfielder advanced to the edge of the area before unleashing a shot that drew a good save from Artur Boruc and he was denied again when the rebound landed at his feet and he tried to go round the Poland goalkeeper.

Just as the Parkhead faithful were beginning to grow restless however, Miller made amends for his early miss by setting up Celtic's opener.

After hustling center-half David Lilley off the ball in the inside left channel, Miller picked out Zurawski on the opposite side of the box and his new Polish striking partner finished confidently with a low right foot drive.

Miller was also behind Celtic's second goal, his layoff teeing up Zurawski to fire a cross towards the back post that Jarosik, steaming in from deep, headed powerfully past Graeme Smith.

Zurawski came within inches of claiming his second within 30 seconds of the restart. Stilian Petrov's hooked pass from inside his own area caught the Kilmarnock defence flat-footed and Zurawski was able to advance deep into the box before screwing his low shot narrowly beyond the far post.

Aiden McGeady and Stilian Petrov were similarly close to hitting the target in quick succession before Caldwell had a header from Nakamura's corner cleared off the line.

Any chance of Killie getting back into the match disappeared with 15 minutes left after Jarosik was pulled down outside the box and the Japanese star stepped up to send a dipping left-foot shot over the wall and beyond the left-hand of Graeme Smith.