Kyogo Furuhashi grabbed his 30th goal of the season as Celtic clinched the cinch Premiership title with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Hearts.
Hearts caused Celtic problems until losing Alex Cochrane to a contentious VAR-assisted red card on the stroke of half-time after the defender was adjudged to have denied Daizen Maeda an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Furuhashi netted from close range with the game’s first shot on target midway through the second half and substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu rounded off the win.
Celtic had gone into the weekend with a 13-point lead over Rangers, who kicked off against Aberdeen 45 minutes after the Tynecastle clash and the Hoops’ win ensured they retain the title with four games to spare.
Ange Postecoglou’s men can now focus on going for a record points total of 107, which they will achieve if they win their remaining matches, and also winning the treble, which they will secure if they beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final.
They did not have it all their own way at Tynecastle though. Interim Hearts manager Steven Naismith had enjoyed a 6-1 win over Ross County in his first home match in charge and his team selection signified real attacking intent with attackers Barrie McKay, Yutaro Oda, Lawrence Chankland and Josh Ginnelly all retaining their places.
Celtic had Anthony Ralston and Yuki Kobayashi in for the injured Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers and the Japanese centre-back had some uncomfortable early moments as the home side pressed them high up the park.
The hosts enjoyed the territorial advantage in the opening 45 minutes with Kye Rowles coming closest with a volley that shaved the post and a header that landed on the roof of the net.
Hearts were not allowing Celtic to get into any passing rhythm and the visitors’ only moment of note had been a Greg Taylor header over the bar before the game changed in the 45th minute.
Ralston’s lofted pass down the right channel put Hearts on the back foot, Maeda ran across Cochrane and went down as his heels were clipped just outside the box.
Rowles was offering some cover and referee Nick Walsh initially showed the yellow card but he changed it to a red after being called to his monitor by video assistant Willie Collum, although the original decision did not appear to be a clear and obvious error.
Naismith brought on Stephen Kingsley for Oda before Carl Starfelt was denied by the offside flag from the resulting free-kick after knocking home Ralston’s header.
Celtic still found it difficult to break through the 10 men but the key moment fittingly involved three players who have been highly influential in their success this season.
Skipper Callum McGregor’s lofted pass found the run of Reo Hatate in behind the Hearts defence and he squared for Furuhashi to nudge home from close range at the near post.
The Japanese striker injured his shoulder in the process of scoring and was soon replaced by Oh.
The South Korean doubled Celtic’s advantage in the 80th minute with a neat finish following good work from fellow subs Sead Haksabanovic and Aaron Mooy.
Some of the 1,303 Celtic fans unveiled a banner which read ‘F*** the King, crown the champions” and they were soon celebrating their 11th title in 12 seasons.
Standard set for Clement as Rangers tee up Old Firm final clash
Phillipe Clement said Rangers' performance against Motherwell must serve as a reference for the rest of their season after they teed up a Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic.
Rangers fought back for a 2-1 victory on Sunday, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on target one day after Celtic trounced Aberdeen 6-0 in the first semi-final.
Dessers converted Connor Barron's cross to level things up in the 49th minute, then Bajrami saw his strike deflect home nine minutes from time to ease the pressure on Clement.
The Gers have endured a difficult Premiership season to date and trail rivals Celtic, who they will face in the League Cup final on December 15, by nine points in the table.
Clement, however, believes they can achieve big things if they replicate the performance they produced at Hampden Park on a regular basis.
"We can go where we want to be, which is the final," he told Premier Sports.
"We had that amazing feeling together with the fans last season and we can battle for that again.
"This needs to be also a reference game for this squad, for this new squad.
"To do what we've been doing a lot last season, to dig in and in every situation to keep our belief, to keep on going, to keep on fighting and to break the wall if we go behind...
"This can be a massive game at the end of the season to have this one as a reference. I want to see, every three days, this mentality."
Aberdeen deliver statement win over Rangers to keep pace with Celtic
Shayden Morris' winner helped Aberdeen defeat Rangers 2-1 to maintain their unbeaten run and stay level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts took the lead through Nicky Devlin after 31 minutes at the Pittodrie Stadium before Nedim Bajrami's individual brilliance saw Rangers back on level terms 18 minutes into the second half.
Celebrations soon resumed in Aberdeen as substitute Morris crashed in the winner 11 minutes later.
Victory sees Jimmy Thelin's side move nine points clear of Rangers, who sit in third, as they remain level on 28 points with Celtic, only behind on goal difference.
Celtic continued to add to that superior goal difference with a 2-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park.
Two goals inside 10 minutes in the second half from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels gave them a routine victory to keep them unbeaten at the top of the table.
Celtic return to Premiership summit, Rangers edge past St Mirren
Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a routine 3-0 victory at Motherwell, putting them back above Aberdeen on goal difference.
Brendan Rodgers' Bhoys had been knocked off the summit by the Dons' 1-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday, but they responded by easing to their eighth victory in nine games at Fir Park.
Luke McCowan steered in the opener on his first Celtic start, after Lennon Miller had twice struck the woodwork in the early stages.
Stand-in captain Alistair Johnston then ghosted in to score their second at the back post shortly before the hour mark, with Adam Idah adding a third before Motherwall's Liam Gordon was sent off in stoppage time.
That result piled the pressure on Rangers, who could have ended the weekend nine points adrift of the top two, but they claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox to stay within six.
Mohamed Diomande's powerful close-range finish put the Gers ahead, but Alex Gogic rose to nod in a St Mirren equaliser midway through the first half.
Vaclav Cerny spared their blushes, though, as he scored the winner following good work from Cyriel Dessers in the 69th minute.
Rangers go to second-placed Aberdeen, who are yet to lose this season, for a huge fixture in the title race on Wednesday.
In Sunday's other Premiership game, teenager James Wilson struck three minutes from time to rescue a point for Hearts in a 1-1 Edinburgh Derby draw at Hibernian.
Mykola Kuharevich had put Hibs ahead on the rebound after Marvin Ekpiteta headed against the crossbar just after the hour mark, but Wilson got the final touch to divert James Penrice's long throw home with stoppage time looming.
The result keeps Hibs rooted to the foot of the table with six points, though they are only behind 11th-placed Hearts on goal difference and still have a game in hand to come.
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