Aberdeen boss Barry Robson praised the battling qualities of his side as they survived a poor performance to earn a point from a goalless draw at home to Hibernian that keeps them in pole position to finish third in the cinch Premiership.
On a day which started with a celebration of the club’s ‘Gothenburg Greats’, the Dons were poor on the pitch and had Kelle Roos to thank for a penalty save which earned them a point.
Hibs had been the better side throughout, but a goal never looked like coming until a penalty call from VAR referee Andrew Dallas saw Roos save Kevin Nisbet’s resultant spot-kick.
The home side ended with a number of players visibly nursing knocks and niggles, and Robson said: “I’m proud of the players and what they’ve given us. Over this last three months they’ve been outstanding.
“It was a big emotional game but we’ve kept another clean sheet. In football you don’t always play well and the most pleasing fact is that they dig in and fight and they come out with a point.
“I’m so pleased on that side of it because we didn’t have a good day and the boy didn’t play well. Can I sit here and get angry after what they’ve given me? No chance.
“I’m happy that we maintained our position. We kept a clean sheet and we move on.”
The sides traded blows until the 75th minute when a Hibs corner saw Elie Youan head off the crossbar and substitute Harry McKirdy’s strike seemingly come off the post.
However, VAR subsequently showed a Hayden Coulson handball and a spot-kick was awarded.
Nisbet stepped up confidently but his drive straight down the middle was saved by the legs of Roos, who survived a subsequent VAR check as to whether he had come off his line and the Dons support were suddenly alive again.
Hibernian boss Lee Johnson was also taking the positives from his side’s performance, saying: “I thought we were outstanding. I was super proud on a tactical level.
“Aberdeen have been on a good run but I honestly thought it was total domination. If that was a boxing match, it would have been stopped.
“Of course, they have threats, from set plays and areas like that. I didn’t think we produced enough quality in the final third, particularly in the first half.”
As well as the penalty, VAR also checked a nasty high challenge from Josh Campbell on Liam Scales which left both requiring treatment, but ultimately the Hibs man received only a yellow card.
Johnson added: “I was a bit worried as to whether Josh was going to be sent off.
“It was a high challenge but he was facing the wrong way so I understand why he wasn’t. Then obviously the key match moment never went our way.”
Rodgers salutes Celtic's 'Champions League mentality' in St. Johnstone rout
Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to Celtic's "Champions League mentality" in their 6-0 rout of St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice, while Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah were also on target for the Hoops, who warmed up for their midweek European trip to Borussia Dortmund in emphatic fashion.
The dominant victory moved Celtic back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table - ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference - as they continued their perfect start to the season, with a sixth win in as many games.
And Rodgers was pleased by the character his players demonstrated.
"I thought this was an opportunity to show our mentality," he told Premier Sports. "All the noise has been about Dortmund, but I wanted a Champions League mentality here, and I thought the boys controlled the game.
"We wanted to keep our rhythm going. You see some of the guys coming in this evening, like Valle coming in at left-back, showing his composure.
"Most were looking at it as a tick-box before Dortmund, but for me, it was to show their mentality. Everyone will be flying on Tuesday night, but I want to see how they do when they’re here, or other grounds. It’s a case of just focusing in on that.
"I thought the variety of our game was very good; everything you'd want from your team."
Looking ahead to Tuesday's clash with Bundesliga giants Dortmund, he added: "[They] are a good team with top players, so we can't get away from that.
"OK, they've lost one or two [players] from last year, but I always say we make sure we press, make sure we attack. It's a tough game, but we'll look forward to it."
Al Kholood 2-4 Al-Hilal: Koulibaly on target as champions move to summit
Al-Hilal withstood a late Al Kholood rally to move top of the Saudi Pro League following a 4-2 victory at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
The damage was done during a late first-half surge by the reigning champions, who leapfrogged Al-Ittihad to the summit of the table.
Al-Hilal broke the deadlock in the 38th minute through former Napoli and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who finished after Renan Lodi initially struck the woodwork.
Malcom doubled the lead four minutes later, then Ali Al Bulayhi made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time.
Former Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest defender Lodi then got in the act to make it four within three minutes of the restart.
The hosts finished the contest the stronger of the two sides with Hammam Al Hammami and a William Troost-Ekong penalty halving the deficit, but that rally could not prevent the visitors from remaining perfect after their first five games.
Data Debrief: Al-Hilal remain perfect
Al-Hilal have won each of their opening five games in a Saudi Pro League season for the third time in their history, also achieving the feat in 2010-11 and 2018-19.
Jorge Jesus' side also continued their dominant record against newly promoted clubs, having now won each of their last nine such matches.
Despite their late surge, Al Kholood suffered their third defeat of the season, though there was individual cause for celebration, as former Al-Hilal player Mohammed Jahfali came on for his 200th Saudi Pro League appearance.
St Johnstone 0-6 Celtic: Defending champions continue perfect start
Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a thumping 6-0 win away at St Johnstone.
The defending champions thought they had taken the lead early on through Daizen Maeda, but VAR intervened due to a foul in the build-up.
Nevertheless, a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo's sumptuous strike virtually ended the contest at half-time.
There was to be no mercy in the second half though, as captain Callum McGregor added a fourth for Celtic shortly after the restart.
Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added further gloss to the scoreline to make it six league wins out of six for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this campaign and take them top, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.
St Johnstone are now just a point above second bottom in the table.
Data Debrief: Defence first
Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the league.
Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of seven games from 26 April 2015 to 9 August 2015, so as well as their rampant attack, Rodgers' team have a mean defence, with St Johnston accumulating only 0.29 expected goals (xG) on Saturday.
With two assists in this match, meanwhile, Nicolas Kuhn now has four in total for the season, which is two more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.
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