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 Shankland 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.
Dundee 1-2 Celtic: Forrest brace restores Hoops' three-point lead at SPL summit
James Forrest scored twice as Celtic regained their three-point cushion at the Scottish Premiership summit with a narrow 2-1 victory over Dundee.
Rangers had applied the pressure earlier in the day with a 2-1 win at St Mirren, moving Philippe Clement's side level on points with the Hoops.
Although, Celtic did not twitch with Forrest volleying them ahead on the half-hour mark, before doubling their lead in the 67th minute.
Antonio Portales pulled a goal back for Dundee seven minutes later with his first league strike of the season, but the visitors held on to pull clear at the top once more with five games remaining.
Data debrief
Returning to the starting line-up today, Forrest's double separated the sides as he found the net more than once in a game for the first time since scoring a hat-trick against Hibernian in October 2022.
Celtic have now won their last 10 league matches against Dundee and are unbeaten in 43 meetings overall since a 2-0 defeat in May 2001, only enjoying a longer such streak against Dumbarton (50).
Dundee 1-2 Celtic: Forrest braces restores Hoops' three-point lead at SPL summit
James Forrest scored twice as Celtic regained their three-point cushion at the Scottish Premiership summit with a narrow 2-1 victory over Dundee.
Rangers had applied the pressure earlier in the day with a 2-1 win at St Mirren, moving Philippe Clement's side level on points with the Hoops.
Although, Celtic did not twitch with Forrest volleying them ahead on the half-hour mark, before doubling their lead in the 67th minute.
Antonio Portales pulled a goal back for Dundee seven minutes later with his first league strike of the season, but the visitors held on to pull clear at the top once more with five games remaining.
Data debrief
Returning to the starting line-up today, Forrest's double separated the sides as he found the net more than once in a game for the first time since scoring a hat-trick against Hibernian in October 2022.
Celtic have now won their last 10 league matches against Dundee and are unbeaten in 43 meetings overall since a 2-0 defeat in May 2001, only enjoying a longer such streak against Dumbarton (50).
St. Mirren 1-2 Rangers: Dessers nets winner as Gers keep touch on Celtic
Rangers boosted their Scottish Premiership title hopes as Cyriel Dessers' strike earned a narrow 2-1 win over St. Mirren at the SMISA Stadium on Sunday.
Rangers were ahead with 32 minutes played as Zach Hemming failed to deal with a cross before James Bolton inadvertently put through his own net under pressure from Dessers.
But St. Mirren hit back just five minutes later as Mikael Mandron nodded goalwards, with the ball flying just past the fingertips of Jack Butland before going in off the post to send the teams into the break level.
Rangers needed a response in the second half, and they got exactly that with 18 minutes left to play as Dessers was left with far too much space in the middle to head James Tavernier's cross into the back of the net.
The hosts huffed and puffed for another equaliser but ultimately could not find one as Rangers held on for three much-needed points that move them level with leaders Celtic but with an inferior goal difference, leaving them second ahead of Celtic's visit to Dundee later on Sunday.
St. Mirren, meanwhile, remain fifth in the Scottish Premiership table.
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