Celtic were crowned Scottish Premiership champions after defeating Hearts 3-1 in a dramatic final-day title decider.
Martin O’Neill’s side knew only a win was the way to overtake Hearts, who had held the lead for 250 days, but two late goals from Daenen Maeda and Callum Osmund helped them turn things around.
Amidst a season of turmoil, fan protests and the departure of a manager, the Parkhead club proved why they have been Scotland’s dominant force for the past decade – their 14th top-flight crown in 15 seasons.
O’Neill, 74, returned to guide the club through a tumultuous period, replacing Celtic with six points adrift at the summit, but finished the season two points behind the Jambos.
With one trophy in hand, O’Neill was 90 minutes away from leading Celtic to a domestic double in the Scottish Cup final against former captain Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline on May 23.
How did Celtic win another title?
Lawrence Shankland opened the scoring with an unmarked header at the back post as chants of “we won’t be moved” erupted from the away side.
But then, of course, there was drama.
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Lawrence Shankland scored Hearts’ first goal.
Kieran Tierney’s cross was stopped by the arm of Alexandros Kyziridis and referee Don Robertson pointed to the penalty spot.
As the incredible title race unfolded once again, Arne Engels stepped up and fired a low shot under a diving Alexander Schworrow.
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Arne Engels drew level with Celtic immediately after his team was awarded a penalty for handball
Hearts lost Beni Baningim and Pierre Landry-Kabore to injury as Celtic dominated possession and increased the pressure after half-time.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho hit the post and Schwolo made a great save to deny Benjamin Nygren and Maeda.
Then, in the 87th minute, Celtic made a breakthrough.
Maeda pushed in Osmund’s low cross, but the offside flag was raised. However, VAR intervened and reversed the decision, with replays clearly showing Osmund was onside before Maeda received the ball to tee up.
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Celtic regained the lead in the 87th minute when VAR confirmed Daenen Maeda was offside.
As Hearts chased an equalizer, Schworow’s attempt at a set-piece was in vain, and as Celtic fans poured out of the stands onto the pitch, Osmund slipped through and slotted his third into an empty net.
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The moment Callum Osmund clinched the title for Celtic against Hearts
However, several were confronted by a number of aggrieved Hearts players who were led into the tunnel by club officials fearing for their safety.
The match was nearing the end of the scheduled eight minutes of extra time, but the SPFL is understood to have been informed by match officials that the final whistle had blown at this stage.
Hearts’ Cameron Devlin looks desperate at full-time
With Celtic players and supporters still waiting inside the ground for the trophy to be lifted, Hearts’ team bus departed Parkhead with players still in their match kit within 20 minutes of the final whistle and did not carry out any post-match media duties.
Hearts subsequently issued a strong statement, saying players and staff had reported “severe physical and verbal abuse” following a “disgraceful” pitch invasion. Celtic, the SPFL and Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
O’Neill: The players gave me a reason to live!
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports:
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Martin O’Neill admits he thought his days of lifting trophies at Celtic Park were over.
“The players and coaching staff have given me a reason to live! Not that my family hasn’t! But this is the most special place on earth.
“When the unity happens in this stadium it’s spectacular and obviously the players were great, optimized by the captain, but we wouldn’t have won without the supporters.”
“I had a great team back then, and that team won the game for me. That’s just the credit to this team. They won the game for me.”
“Celtic today get very excited when there is unison in the stadium. And they never give up. I might have done it, but they didn’t.
“You never know about momentum, because momentum can change in an instant. People kept saying we had momentum and were walking hard. If you had asked me before we played Rangers, would we have carried that into the final day? I would have bitten our arm off. So we did it here. If Hearts had gone out and got a result, we couldn’t have done any more. We went into the game with our heart and soul.”
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A peek inside Celtic’s dressing room after a dramatic 3-1 final day win over Hearts
“We made a lot of mistakes, but there’s a lot of courage in the team. I’m not talking about physical courage, I’m talking about mental courage that got us over the line.”
Sutton: O’Neal’s biggest success |Will he do another season?
Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton said at Celtic Park:
“It’s all about Martin O’Neill, Magic Martin. I couldn’t say how he turned things around.
“Celtic have been flopping around this season, but Martin made the old Honda Civic roar again. He was on the trot when it mattered, scoring an impressive seven wins and leading Celtic to victory.”
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel sorry for Hearts. They’ve had a great season, they’ve been at the top and they’ve held their own.
“This may be Martin O’Neill’s biggest success as a manager. When Celtic lost away to Dundee United, O’Neill said we needed to win every game.
“There wasn’t a single supporter in the country who thought this Celtic team could do that.
“Will Martin do another season? He’s done the job not once but twice.
“He looked completely exhausted, but to get the team this far. If he wants it, why not give him the job?”
“In the end the best team wins the league and Celtic have found a way under Martin O’Neill, which is just incredible.
“You heard him say after the Dundee United game that he needed to win every game and he wasn’t performing well, but there’s something about digging deep and finding a way.
“They weren’t very good today either. Maeda, what a strange season he had, but he got better towards the end. He’s like Maradona again!”
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Kieran Tierney shares his immediate reaction to Celtic’s dramatic final day victory over Hearts to win the title
McGregor: Everyone ignored us.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor said on Sky Sports:
“It’s the first time in my life. I’m speechless! You know what that means to you. It’s been a terrible season, and at the end of the day, you’ve all seen us off. It’s special because it’s happening inside this building.”
“We knew we had a chance. We keep moving forward. What a special group of people.
“Magical.”
“It will take a considerable amount of time for Hearts to overcome this situation.”
James McFadden talks about Sky Sports:
“It will take Hearts a long time to get over this, but we have to take a step back when we can.
“They pushed Celtic all the way and it was close, so that’s a credit to the players and Derek McInnes.”
the record book has been rewritten
The big question before kick-off was whether Hearts could become the first non-Old Firm club to become champions since 1960. In the end, it was Celtic who broke the record books again.
Rangers have won more league titles since 1930, but the gap has narrowed in recent years, with Celtic leveling the table with 55 last season. They currently lead that race alone with 56.
Since 2000, the Hoops have won 20 league championships and the Rangers have won six, creating a generation-long dominance.
Bragging rights truly belong to Celtic.
VOTE: Who was key for the champions?
Anxiety about form. Dissatisfaction with recruitment. Celtic fans have been worrying all summer and January about the players who have, or have not, passed through the Parkhead gates.
But there were players in the building who could get results. They delivered.
Daen Maeda probably didn’t reach the heights he did last season, but he delivered in a crucial moment on the final day. The winning goal was his seventh in the league in the final month of the season, and he would score similar goals in the remainder of the season. Benjamin Nygren also scored 16 goals and provided five assists in the Premiership.
The returning Kieran Tierney also had doubts due to fitness concerns, but his contribution of 14 goals in total made him a key figure both defensively and forward. Kelechi Iheanacho had his own fitness issues and did not play for four months before moving to Glasgow after the summer period. Eight of his 12 appearances came off the bench, but four of his five goals were late game-winning goals, turning his five points into 15 points.
And then there’s Callum McGregor, the leader. It takes a certain kind of mentality to win titles. He has won 11 titles to date, including five as captain. He may not have been at his best, but he is leading by example.
Yang Hyun-joong also played his part with a contribution of 10 goals, James Forrest became the first player to win the Scottish top flight title 14 times and the list goes on. Vote for your standout player below.
