Celtic won a hard-fought 3-1 win against Falkirk at Celtic Park, moving them level on points with Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Martin O’Neill’s side managed to play in front of their title rivals, putting pressure on Rangers and Hearts, who don’t have a game until Sunday.
Daizen Maeda and Kieran Tierney produced two excellent first-half finishes while Baines was punished for missing some big chances.
Kyrell Wilson’s superb half-volley in the second period gave the visitors hope of a comeback, but Maeda added his second goal of the night with seven minutes remaining to secure a crucial three points in the title race.
The Champions have now won four games in a row and have four games left to defend their Premiership crown.
Sixth-placed Falkirk currently face an uphill battle to secure a spot in Europe, having won just one of their last five competitions.
Daizen Maeda regained his form with two spectacular goals.
How Celtic beat a lively Falkirk
It will always be a tough afternoon for the visiting side after losing to rivals Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup semi-final last weekend, losing three key players to injury in Scott Bain, Philip Risser and Liam Henderson.
However, it actually started with the best of both worlds.
Captain Brad Spencer hit a fine volley from distance, Villami Sinisalo pushed in with all his might and Dylan Tait headed wide from a fine corner routine.
But as John McGlynn’s side have learned in their four games against Celtic this season, they must be ruthless against the champions.
Maeda once again demonstrated his incredible pressing ability in the lead-up to the opening goal, just as he did in Sunday’s semi-final victory over St Mirren.
Kieran Tierney’s stunning strike gave Celtic a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Japanese international pounced on a fierce touch from Kieran Adams on the halfway line before forcing goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth off the opposition line with a deft opening goal.
Tierney then hit the crossbar for his sixth goal of the season, completing Celtic’s quick fightback and extending their advantage to two points just before half-time.
O’Neill’s side controlled much of the second period and Yan’s third goal was ruled out for offside, but Falkirk hit back with 20 minutes remaining.
Substitute Kyrell Wilson chested Leon McCann’s cross-field pass and unleashed an unstoppable half-volley, curling into the top corner from an acute angle.
Wilson continued to look threatening as Falkirk searched for an equaliser, but any hope of a valuable point ended when Maeda scored his second of the afternoon with seven minutes remaining.
Last season’s ‘Player of the Year’ looked more like his old self, riding on the end of Sebastian Tunecuti’s cutback to score his third goal in two games – after scoring 17 and not scoring last time.
Perhaps you are hitting your form at the right time? O’Neill would hope so.
With four games left, only one point separates the top three teams. For now…
What managers said
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Martin O’Neill described Daenen Maeda’s performance in the win for Celtic as “phenomenal”.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill:
“The result was the most important thing.
“Daizen Maeda was phenomenal today…I thought he was phenomenal today. I’m happy with the result and I’m happy with quite a few performances.”
“Despite a lot of adversity, the players showed immense character. We have our flaws like everyone else, but you can’t dispute the character of the team.”
“I’m going to pay attention to what’s going on (Sunday), absolutely, I always have.
“I remember years ago worrying about what Rangers would do the next day. Hearts showed great resilience. It’s a three-horse race.”
Falkirk manager John McGlynn:
“I’m really happy with the performance. It was a big test mentally today after losing a late goal against Rangers and losing a penalty against Dunfermline last week.
“We all did the best we could…The statistics don’t say much.
“We tried to play a few times and lost the ball and Celtic punished us. “Celtic were very aggressive and pressing very hard.
“I’m really proud of them because last week there was a big question of how we were going to respond to it. Sure, we lost, but the team mentality was great.”
