Celtic were not at their best at the back and were not helped by the number of decisions that went against them, despite the presence of VAR, but ultimately, Ange Postecoglou’s side did what they have done time after time over the past year. Grind out a win. That is how titles are won and the Hoops showed why they are the defending champions of Scotland.
James Forrest, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda and Greg Taylor scored for Celtic, making it 14 goals from the past three games, with their barren run in front of goal well and truly behind them.
On this occasion though, the defence was the worrying part, as the Hoops ended up conceding thrice against a Hearts team that came into the game in terrible form and question marks over Robbie Neilson’s future. Lawrence Shankland got an unlikely hattrick on the day, with two coming from the spot. It was not enough to stop Celtic from getting all three points though.
Neilson has gotten a bit of a reputation of not giving Celtic credit after their wins against Hearts, and that trend continued on this day as well. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the manager told Sky Sports:
"“We went toe to toe, and we absolutely rattled Celtic today. They brought on quality at the end and got their goals. But they didn’t have to work too hard for their goals, and that’s the disappointing thing.”"
Neilson’s comments won’t amuse Celtic fans
It is true that there was an element of luck or bad defending in a couple of Celtic’s goals on the day but then, the Hoops players were more alert to the situation than the opposition and put the ball into the back of the net. That is football.
Of course, the thing that Celtic fans would have been most concerned about is winning the game and the team did just that.
In the process, they also extended their lead over the Rangers to four points, who could only draw vs Livingston at Ibrox, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side continue to struggle.