CHAMPIONEES!
Technically, Celtic can still be overtaken by Rangers at the top of the cinch Premiership table.
But the Parkhead club now need to lose heavily in their final two matches against Dundee United away and Motherwell at home and the Ibrox club will need to beat United and Ross County at home and Hearts away by huge winning margins.
Neither is going to happen.
This 4-1 victory over Hearts, then, effectively, if not officially, wrapped up the Scottish title for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
If Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team, who played in an energy-sapping Europa League semi-final against R B Leipzig on Thursday night, draw and drop two points in Govan tomorrow then they will be eight points behind their city rivals with two games left.
But the Celtic fans knew the significance of this result and were in full party mode from the minute that Matt O’Riley put them 3-1 in front in the second-half.
EASTERN INFLUENCE
The importance of Postecoglou’s Japanese signings to Celtic’s success this season cannot be underestimated.
Yosuke Ideguchi may have been used only sporadically by the Greek-Australian, who spent several seasons in charge of J League outfit Yokohama F Marinos before moving to Scotland in the summer, since arriving in January.
But Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda have all proved their worth and then some.
The latter showed great composure to level the match against Hearts, who had taken the lead early on through Ellis Simms, in the first-half today. The former forced a Jota header over the line to make it 2-1 shortly after.
GORDON PRIZE GUY
There were several strong contenders for the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year award that was handed out earlier this week.
Celtic defender Cameron Carters-Vickers and midfielder Callum McGregor, who picked up the PFA Scotland prize on Sunday, have both been outstanding in the 2021/22 campaign.
And Ibrox right back James Tavernier has been immense for Rangers during their run to the final of the Europa League final.
But Craig Gordon, the Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper, showed that he deserved to win for a record third occasion with his display against his former club at Parkhead this afternoon.
Yes, Robbie Neilson’s men lost. But the margin of victory would have been far greater had it not been for their captain.
Gordon denied David Turnbull, Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota in the first-half.
The 40-year-old is in a good place ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Rangers in a fortnight and the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final against Ukraine next month.
