Celtic turned on the style to humiliate Hearts after Rangers failed to take the chance to move to the top of the Scottish Premiership. Back-to-back defeats for new Hibernian boss Marink Reedijk mean they are now bottom, while Motherwell and St Mirren could be in trouble after five straight defeats. Celtic's lead at the top is now four points, the same as the gap between seventh and 12th.
Celti had no wins in five, but went on an unbelievable scoring spree against last season's runners-up Hearts to extend their lead at the top. Encouraged by their second-half showing in Thursday's 4-1 Europa League defeat to Benfica, the manager started with the front three that finished that game in Lisbon. All three - Benjamin Nygren, Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran - scored in the 7-1 demolition of their title rivals. Hearts, who had lost just one of their last 14 games in all competitions, played a part in their own humiliation, failing to defend corner kicks and losing two goals from Celtic's first three set-pieces. The game was effectively over after 10 minutes, and by half-time the hosts had scored five. Sky Sports' Kris Boyd accused the Jambos of showing Celtic a "lack of respect," adding it should be a "wake-up call" if they want to be real title contenders.
Rangers went to Dundee knowing an eighth straight win would see them return to the top of the Premiership, at least until Celtic played. But a poor first half and a late mistake from Dan Neil saw them leave Dens Park with a 2-2 draw. They worked hard to undo a struggling start to take the lead, but one lapse in concentration from Neil cost them two points. Derek Mc Innes said pre-match that it was too early to put pressure on their title challengers with a win, then claimed Dundee's second goal was like "a balloon popping."
Reedijk can have no doubts about the size of job he has inherited at Hibernian after his home debut ended with them dropping to the foot of the table. It is now six league games without a win for the Easter Road side, who are in great need of a goalscorer.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing