Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 at Celtic Park on 18 October, a result that moved them four points clear at the top of the Premiership. Hearts had arrived with the division's top goalscorers and a chance to move within two points of the leaders, but they left Glasgow well beaten.
Celtic were two goals up inside ten minutes, Kieran Tierney scoring in the 7th minute and Benjamin Nygren following in the 10th, both from corners taken by Mika Baur. Hearts had defended those early set pieces poorly and were cheap in possession. Callum Osmand then scored twice in two first-half minutes, in the 36th and 38th, in the first meeting of the sides since his goal decided last season's title. Laurent Mendy reduced the deficit for Hearts in the 41st minute, but Jamie McCart put through his own net in first-half stoppage time (45+1), sending Celtic in at the break 5-1 up. Hearts managed 20 shots in the match, and only one of them, Mendy's, found the net.
Camilo Duran scored in the 49th minute, four minutes after the restart, and Benjamin Nygren completed the scoring in the 83rd minute. Duran was asked to play as the No 9 with Kasper Hogh dropped to the bench, while Osmand was given his first senior start for Celtic. Jota, returning from injury, came on at half-time and played the whole second half. Cláudio Braga started for Hearts and was withdrawn in the 72nd minute. O'Neill said the team had been delighted with the result and that the individual performances should please the players.
“It was a great, great win,”
O'Neill singled out right-back Colby Donovan, who kept Hearts' Josh McPake quiet for most of the match. He said Donovan's improvement over the past year had been clear to see.
Celtic have 24 points and sit top of the table, four points ahead of Rangers after nine matches. Hearts are third with 16 points, eight behind the champions. O'Neill did not want to overstate the lead and said it was very early to judge a four-point gap. He recalled that Celtic had been four points behind with about seven games to go last season, a reminder of how quickly a lead can be eroded.
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Celtic face Celta Vigo in the Europa League on Thursday, 22 October, a fixture the team needs to win. The Premiership win followed a heavy Europa League defeat to Benfica. O'Neill warned what a loss would mean for the club's mood.
“If we lose on Thursday, it'll be crisis back again, so you know, I've been here before.”
O'Neill urged his players to build on the performance against last season's title rivals and to use the win as a boost for the rest of the season.
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Callum Osmand and Benjamin Nygren each scored twice as Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 at Celtic Park on 18 October. The win moved Martin O'Neill's side four points clear of Rangers, with a Europa League match against Celta Vigo to come on Thursday, 22 October.
AI text based on reports by The Scotsman, SAPO and Irish Examiner. Published .