Celtic stroll clear of stumbling rivals at Premiership summit as Hearts left with Shankland headache – 3 talking points

Kyogo was the Heart breaker again as the Hoops hitman maintained his personal vendetta against the Jambos.

The striker has notched more goals against the Gorgie men than any other side in Scotland and he made it number 11 with the crucial opener at Tynecastle. Nicolas Kuhn kept up his incredible return for the season with a quick-fire second as the Parkhead club thumped Hearts with a rapid double around the hour mark to seal the deal and go three points ahead of Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership – and a mammoth 11 in front of Rangers.

Sub Adam Idah added to the pain with a late brace including a penalty after Musa Drammeh had briefly pulled one back. But the Jambos were left kicking themselves at letting the Hoops off the hook – with Blair Spittal and Lawrence Shankland missing sitters in a dominant opening half.

It was a lesson in clinical finishing as Celtic had the quality to punish the hosts when the chances arose. Brendan Rodgers’ men had plenty of the ball in the opening period – but it was the Jambos who possessed the menace.

Critchley’s men pressed the Hoops right out of their comfort zone and should have been ahead. Shankland blasted wide when he had to hit the target after Blair Spittal couldn’t quite get hold of his drive in the opening minutes.

There was another header from Shankland straight at Kasper Schmeichel and a desperate block from Cameron Carter-Vickers to deny Alan Forrest’s low rocket. Celts were not creating much with a Daizen Maeda header over the top the closest they came until Craig Gordon’s stunning save soon after the restart.

Kyogo looked set to bury it after spinning on to Nicholas Kuhn’s delightful ball over the top – but Scotland’s no.1 produced a brilliant block. The next time the