Dominant Heart of Midlothian Outclass Disappointing Celtic to Go 8 Pts Ahead

Rampant Hearts surged eight points clear of Celtic at the summit of the Scottish top flight to strengthen their early-season title credentials and worsen the malaise around the Celtic team.

A superb goal from Kyziridis and Lawrence Shankland's penalty gave the Hearts team a two-goal advantage that the reigning champions could not recover from.

The young defender - among three youth players in the Celtic starting lineup - slashed into his own net early on to put the home side ahead at a energetic their home ground, and it was the youngster's infringement that led to the spot-kick.

A stylish finish from McGregor of the season had quickly cancelled out Hearts' opener, and the Swedish attacker almost put Rodgers' team in front, choosing placement over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to save from close range.

But Derek McInnes' irrepressible Hearts regained dominance to hand Celtic to back-to-back losses for the first time since 2023.

It also gives the Hearts a commanding advantage at the summit.

The last time they were so far clear was in the 2005-2006 season under George Burley, when they ultimately finished second - a rare instance that a team has not secured the title after building such an advantage in the past 27 years.

The Hearts coach, whose former team were runners-up to the champions on four occasions, has been at pains to downplay championship discussions, as the club seek their first top-flight crown since 1960.

The Celtic boss has seen it all before 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 deserve serious consideration.

Match Analysis: The hosts Capitalize of Weakened Celtic

Hearts started with the confidence of a side undefeated in the league this season - fans' favourite Kyziridis poked a cross in for Shankland to fire off target.

The Glasgow team didn't help themselves with some uncharacteristic carelessness in possession and they buckled under their first real examination.

Claudio Braga's header was touched on to a post by the Celtic keeper and the follow-up from Shankland was turned into the net by the hapless defender, in for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Celtic found their rhythm and started stringing passes together. From a flowing attack, Sebastian Tounekti released the full-back to set up the captain, who rolled in.

Apart from the Nygren chance, the visitors struggled to create much for lone frontman Jonny Kenny or his replacement Shin Yamada amid the unavailability of injured forwards Kelechi Iheanacho and Daizen Maeda.

Hearts 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, fired a low shot past the goalkeeper from the just outside the area.

Immediately after, the defender fouled the midfielder in the inside right channel and Shankland converted. And it could've been an even more handsome win, had substitute Ageu not been denied by the shot-stopper.

Celtic's second half was somewhat summed up in two incidents involving big-money recruit Engles.

The midfielder's wayward free-kick delivery was in stark contrast to his European display in the Europa League win over Sturm Graz and the Belgium international was then yellow-carded for a professional foul.

What They Said

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: "You see how hard the players work, the team spirit. That's not always enough to win games consistently.

"Our strength lies in, is good technical ability. You're seeing that from multiple individuals who have been here before. Some of the new signings 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. After the first two rounds is normally an indication of your standing."

The Celtic boss: "It's a really poor goal from our perspective. We didn't move when the ball went back as a line so when they play it, they should have players offside but weren't. We have got to do better with the attempt.

"There's still so many points 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 here and now and look to achieve greater stability and better performance in our play."

Upcoming Fixtures for Both Sides?

Celtic are returning to their stadium on Wednesday against promoted side Falkirk (19:45 GMT). At the identical hour in the top division, Hearts are at their opponents' ground.