Timely Callum McGregor intervention helps Celtic break Aberdeen resolve

Callum McGregor marked his comeback with a brilliant late winner as Celtic finally ended Aberdeen's resistance in a one-sided Pittodrie encounter which they won 1-0.

The captain again showed his importance as he made the difference on his first appearance since suffering a knee injury in Leipzig on 5 October to restore Celtic's nine-point lead at the top of the cinch Premiership.

The champions were utterly dominant against a cautious home side but looked like they would be frustrated until the 87th minute.

James Forrest back-heeled into the path of McGregor after coming inside from the left and the midfielder arrowed a 20-yard drive just inside the far post.

The bulk of the 15,567 crowd who braved what Aberdeen called "hazardous" and icy conditions outside Pittodrie were given little to cheer other than some resolute penalty-box defending.

Celtic had 33 efforts at goal compared to Aberdeen's two, both of which were off target, and Ange Postecoglou's side enjoyed 80% possession.

The visitors returned to action after the World Cup break with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda starting following their exploits in Qatar. However, they were without Sead Haksabanovic after the Premiership player of the month suffered a knock in training on Friday.

Aberdeen started with Jack MacKenzie in a back three, with Liam Scales unable to face his parent club, and the Dons set out their stall to sit deep and frustrate the leaders.

The tactic largely worked in the first half, with Celtic only managing four efforts on target and none of them too threatening.

Jota saw a long-range strike parried by Kelle Roos, who later stopped a penalty-box effort from Reo Hatate before clawing the loose ball away as Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi descended.

Anthony