Dominant Heart of Midlothian Outclass Disappointing The Hoops to Move 8 Pts in Front
Match summary
- Kyziridis & Shankland secure victory for the hosts and propel them eight ahead at summit
- Callum McGregor cancelled out early Murray own goal
- Hearts go 13 league matches unbeaten for first time in over two decades
The dominant Edinburgh side powered eight points clear of their Glasgow rivals at the summit of the Scottish Premiership to bolster their early-season championship claims and deepen the struggles around the Celtic team.
A superb goal from Kyziridis and a spot-kick from Shankland gave the Hearts team a two-goal advantage that the title holders could not recover from.
Dane Murray - among three youth players in the Celtic XI - slashed into his own net early on to put Hearts ahead at a energetic their home ground, and it was the 22-year-old's foul that led to the penalty.
Callum McGregor's classy first goal of the season had swiftly equalized Hearts' opener, and the Swedish attacker almost put Celtic in front, opting for finesse over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to save from close range.
But the unstoppable Hearts side regained dominance to hand the visitors to successive league defeats for the first time since last year.
It also gives the Edinburgh side a commanding advantage at the summit.
The last time they were so far clear was in 2005-06 under their former manager, when they ultimately finished second - a rare instance that a team has failed to win the title having held such a lead in the last three decades.
The Hearts coach, whose former team were second to Celtic on multiple times, has been at pains to play down championship discussions, as Hearts seek their maiden league title since the 1960s.
Rodgers has experienced this previously at Celtic - both flawless and stuttering starts to a season. He's never ended as runner-up.
But on the weekend's performance, this Edinburgh outfit showed they need to be taken seriously.
Match Analysis: The hosts Capitalize of Depleted The Visitors
Hearts started with the self-assurance of a side unbeaten in the league this season - the popular attacker delivered a ball for Shankland to stab wide.
Celtic didn't help themselves with some uncharacteristic carelessness in possession and they buckled under their initial test.
Claudio Braga's header was touched on to a post by Kasper Schmeichel and Shankland's return ball was diverted goalwards by the unfortunate Murray, in for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Celtic found their rhythm and started building moves. From a flowing attack, Sebastian Tounekti released Tierney to set up McGregor, who slotted home.
Apart from the Nygren chance, the visitors struggled to create much for striker Kenny or his replacement Shin Yamada amid the unavailability of stricken attackers their key strikers.
The home team regained their intensity and adaptability in attacking from across the final third. The Greek forward, one of the finds of the club's relationship with shareholder Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics, struck low past Schmeichel from the edge of the box.
Almost straight away, Murray tripped Braga in the inside right channel and Shankland scored. And it could've been an even more handsome win, had substitute Ageu not been stopped by Schmeichel.
The visitors' performance after the break was partially encapsulated in a couple of moments involving record signing Arne Engles.
The midfielder's wayward free-kick delivery was in sharp opposition to his midweek exploits in the continental victory over their Austrian opponents and the Belgium international was then yellow-carded for a cynical foul.
What They Said
The Hearts manager: "The effort from the squad is evident, the togetherness. That's not sufficient on its own to win games consistently.
"What we have got, is skillful players. You're witnessing it from a lot of players who have been here previously. Recent additions are keen to demonstrate their quality.
"We're in a positive moment at the minute, but it's just one win. It's important for us to keep winning. We've got loads to do, plenty to improve. Following the initial fixtures is normally an indication of where you are."
The Celtic boss: "It's a really poor goal from our perspective. We failed to push up when the ball went back as a defensive unit so when they pass the ball, they ought to be caught offside but didn't. We have got to do better with the shot.
"Plenty of matches to play for. It's still so early. It's only nine games in. Obviously, being eight adrift is not what we would want. The positive is there's numerous fixtures to play.
"Our attention must turn on the present and look to find more consistency and more quality in our play."
What's Next for Both Sides?
The Glasgow club are returning to their stadium on Wednesday against promoted side Falkirk (19:45 GMT). At the identical hour in the Scottish Premiership, Hearts are at their opponents' ground.
Star Performer
Team Player Scores
- Jersey: 89 Alexandros Kyziridis - Average Rating: 8.65
- Jersey: 9 Lawrence Shankland - Average Rating: 8.40
- Number: 4 C. Halkett - Score: 8.30
- Number: 10 Cláudio Braga - Score: 8.27
- Jersey: 14 C. Devlin - Average Rating: 8.22
- Number: 6 Beni Baningime - Score: 8.16
- Number: 19 S. Findlay - Average Rating: 8.07
- Number: 3 Stephen Kingsley - Average Rating: 8.06
- Jersey: 18 H. Milne - Average Rating: 8.05
- Jersey: 25 Alexander Schwolow - Average Rating: 8.04
- Jersey: 31 O. McEntee - Score: 7.74
- Jersey: 40 Ageu - Score: 7.35
- Number: 7 Eliezer Kabangu - Average Rating: 7.22
- Number: 22 T. Magnússon - Score: 7.05
- Number: 15 Maximilian Steinwender - Score: 7.01
- Jersey: 5 Jamie McCart - Score: 6.82
Celtic Ratings
- Number: 42 C. McGregor - Score: 4.02
- Jersey: 1 K. Schmeichel - Score: 3.85
- Jersey: 63 K. Tierney - Average Rating: 3.68
- Jersey: 23 S. Tounekti - Average Rating: 3.56
- Jersey: 5 Liam Scales - Score: 3.43
- Jersey: 51 Cillian Donovan - Average Rating: 3.34
- Jersey: 8 Benjamin Nygren - Score: 3.28
- Number: 27 A. Engels - Score: 3.24
- Jersey: 49 James Forrest - Average Rating: 3.10
- Number: 14 L. McCowan - Score: 3.09
- Number: 41 Reo Hatate - Score: 3.05
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