3 talking points as Celtic go clear of Rangers but stuffy Hearts make the champions work amid late red cards drama

Robbie Neilson gave some of his star turns a rest – but the Jambo stand-ins still made Celtic sweat for the points to send the champions clear at the top of the Premiership.

Kyogo struck early but it took until stoppage time – when Hearts were down to NINE men – for the result to be put to bed by Giorgos Giakoumakis. Celtic up and running early on against a Jambos side missing several big names ahead of Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg showdown with Zurich in Gorgie.

But the stand-ins managed to soak up the pressure from the champions most of the afternoon and it made it a hard shift. It was a dominant display just missing more of a cutting edge in the final third – but Neilson will have been happy enough with the performance and the cotton wool job with some of his stars as they look to overturn Zurich’s 2-1 first leg lead.

Key men such as Craig Gordon, Stephen Kingsley Barrie McKay, Craig Halkett, Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland were either injured, rested or left on the bench as the Europa League was made the priority.

It’s usually Celtic trying to juggle domestic and foreign policy at this time of year, but with the Champions League group stages in the bag, Ange Postecoglou could roll out the big guns for the Jambos.

The Aussie stuck with the side that slammed Killie for six last week and looked to pick up where they left off. There was a minute’s applause for club great John Hughes before kick-off and Celts quickly got in to their rhythm after the whistle and it wasn’t long before the punters were off their feet.

The Hoops were ahead inside 14 minutes in typical lightening style with Kyogo volleying in from close range after David Turnbull sent Daizen Maeda down the flank to square.

Celtic