Reo Hatate's finesse proves decisive as Celtic edge out Aberdeen

Reo Hatate produced a brilliant finish to earn Celtic victory over nearest rivals Aberdeen and a seven-point lead in the William Hill Premiership.

The Japan midfielder beat the offside trap, chested down Greg Taylor's lofted pass and dispatched a left-footed half-volley into the corner of the net in the 78th minute at Pittodrie.

The 1-0 victory saw the champions strengthen their grip on the title race – they have a game in hand over the Dons and stay 11 points ahead of Rangers.

The game was played in heavy rain and wind speeds of close to 50 miles per hour and the quality of football suffered in the first half but both teams had decent chances as the second half progressed.

The Dons had matched Celtic for the first 11 games of the league campaign with both teams’ only slip-up coming in a 2-2 draw at Parkhead.

But Jimmy Thelin’s side had picked up just two points from three consecutive away games before now losing their 14-match winning run at Pittodrie.

The Dons had also lost goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to a hamstring injury and suffered an early scare when his deputy, Ross Doohan, took one of Kyogo Furuhashi’s knees to the face as the pair collided when going for Callum McGregor’s through ball. The former Celtic keeper was able to continue after treatment.

The visitors started with Alex Valle and Paulo Bernardo in their team after Brendan Rodgers reversed four of the six changes he made ahead of Saturday’s win over Ross County.

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Valle was given some difficult moments by Duk early on and