Four teams will compete for the title, with three points separating the top three teams. This was a weekend of competition for the top spot in the Scottish Premiership, and the race was very much geared towards ‘Race to the Race’.
Celtic made a dramatic comeback from a 2-0 deficit away to Kilmarnock to win 3-2, increasing the pressure on Rangers and Hearts ahead of their game at Ibrox. And that pressure showed as both teams engaged in a tense six-goal thriller.
Rangers’ 4-2 win over Hearts left a two-point gap between the top two teams, with Celtic now three points clear of the top of the table with a game in hand.
But let’s not forget Motherwell in all this. They have won eight games in a row and are 10 points behind Hearts with a game in hand. It’s not impossible…
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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Kilmarnock and Celtic.
So where do we stand once this weekend is over? Sky Sports’ football writers look at the key talking points for each team…
Hearts are still in a great position despite the loss
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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Hearts.
Since Christmas, Hearts have lost to Hibernian, failed to beat 10-a-side Celtic, lost to St Mirren and now lost to Ibrox. Amid high expectations, it was a big game in which coach Derek McInnes’ team once again failed to win.
But despite suffering a second defeat in three games, Hearts are still in a great position at the moment.
First and foremost, they have two home games in hand, against Falkirk and Aberdeen, which is an advantage for a team hurt by the debilitating loss to Rangers.
Crucially, however, the second leg against Aberdeen comes before the Old Firm derby at Ibrox and something will have to concede in terms of chances for our Glasgow rivals.
Yes, Hearts’ dominance this season could be in jeopardy as the loss to Rangers opens up their chances of a title race. But it’s worth remembering that Celtic are heavily reliant on second-half winners, including Sunday’s game against second-bottom Kilmarnock. The Rangers are struggling for a winning streak. They are still in a great position.
Sam Blitz
Celtic started late and very late again!
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Julian Araujo scored Celtic’s winning goal in the 97th minute in the Scottish Premiership match at Kilmarnock.
It was Martin O’Neill’s third straight game in just eight days for Celtic, who were rescued in stoppage time.
This has been the hallmark of many great title-winning Celtic teams over the years. In recent history, think of Matt O’Reilly vs Motherwell (2023), Gyrogos Jakoumakis vs St Johnstone (2022) or even Anthony Ralston vs Ross County (2021).
All the goals we said at the time would be important in the title fight. Goals that make champions.
But this year is different. These late winners will really make a difference. This year’s league is not a canter, but the opposite, and Celtic have the key ingredient of winning experience.
They have a core of serial winners who know nothing but success, including Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and James Forrest.
However, there are limits to just having a “victory mentality”. The level of performance in the first half was again very worrying.
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Celtic manager Martin O’Neill urged caution after his side scored a last-minute goal against Kilmarnock.
“I don’t think it can go on like this,” O’Neill admitted. That’s right, Martin. We have some very tough games coming up and we can’t bail them all out in stoppage time.
Adam Binney
Rangers fight back from the brink and roar again in a title race like no other
It’s no wonder Rangers fans think they’ve seen this movie before. After a tragic event nearly derails the season, the new manager continues to make strides, but his regained momentum quickly crumbles.
After Hearts and Celtic scored late goals, Rangers could have returned to their recent form had they dropped a goal in the final minutes to Motherwell in midweek. Instead, a big win against the league leaders on Sunday would bring them closer to the top, even if there are big challenges ahead.
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Rangers manager Danny Rolle said his team showed great character in their win against Hearts and praised striker Youssef Cermiti, who rewarded his faith by scoring a hat-trick.
Under manager Danny Rolle, Rangers have reduced the gap to Hearts from 13 points to just two. That in itself is quite an achievement considering how bad the Ibrox side were before the Germans took over.
The roll refuses to go too high or low, regardless of the outcome. On Sunday night, while fans were still leaving Ibrox, he told Sky Sports he was already thinking about next week’s big game at Livingston. One game at a time may be a cliché, but it’s the belief Steven Gerrard took to bring Rangers their last title in 2021.
Derek McInnes insisted Rangers still have to return to Tynecastle. Hearts will be thrilled to have two Old Firm games scheduled in the league, but with fixtures against the likes of Falkirk, Hibernian and Motherwell, things haven’t been easy for Rangers this season.
The truth is, this doesn’t look like a campaign in which Brendan Rodgers, Gerrard and Ange Postecoglou’s side are going to devour everything before their eyes. Points will be deducted. There will be twists and turns, and the top six will likely be of very high quality, so the post-split matchup could be one of the most interesting we’ve seen in years.
If there was any doubt before this weekend, we have a fascinating title race ahead of us. A real title race. And Rangers owe a lot to that hat-trick, thanks to Youssef Cermiti’s hat-trick.
Alan Valente
It’s time to take Motherwell seriously
Maybe you have been billed incorrectly all this time.
Some Motherwell fans, and even some Motherwell players, say there are four teams in this title race instead of three.
Top scorer Tawanda Maswanise told me on Thursday: “Watch out for us.” JT, I’m watching.
Jens Berthel Askou’s side continued their winning streak today with a 2-0 home victory over Aberdeen. They remain unbeaten in 7 games in 2026, and have only lost once in their last 18 league games.
A look at the form chart will show they are just as good as Danny Rolle’s rejuvenated Rangers. Rangers are the only team to score at Fir Park since October.
Motherwell are currently unbeaten in eight games.
With a semi-favorable match just around the corner, a fourth faction could emerge after the split.
This isn’t the old cliché of “They can’t win the title, but they might have a say in who wins the title.” If we win the match at hand, we will move closer to within 7 points of the league leader…
Adam Binney
