Celtic produced a breathtaking late turnaround on Saturday to snatch the Scottish Premiership crown from Hearts, sealing a dramatic 3-1 victory and extending their dominance with a 14th league title in 15 seasons.
Heading into the final day needing all three points to leapfrog Hearts at the summit, Celtic fought back from behind to crush the title dreams of the Jambos, who were chasing their first league triumph in 66 years.
For a brief moment, Hearts looked set to end the decades-long grip Rangers and Celtic have had on Scottish football — a dominance stretching back 41 years.
Derek McInnes’ side struck first in the 43rd minute when Lawrence Shankland powered home a header from a corner kick to silence Celtic Park.
Celtic, however, responded just before halftime as Arne Engels calmly converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to restore hope for the hosts.
The tension intensified in the second half with Hearts desperately holding on until the 87th minute, when Daizen Maeda bundled the ball into the net.
Although the goal was initially ruled out for offside, VAR overturned the decision and sent Celtic fans into wild celebration.
The drama was not over yet.
With Hearts goalkeeper, Alexander Schwolow, pushing forward in search of a late equaliser, Callum Osmand raced through and rolled the ball into an empty net with virtually the last kick of the match.
Supporters immediately flooded the pitch as Celtic celebrated another remarkable title triumph, while Hearts players were left devastated after falling short once again at the decisive moment.
The heartbreak revived painful memories for Hearts fans, including their infamous final-day collapse against Kilmarnock in 1965 and the dramatic 1986 title loss when Albert Kidd’s late double for Dundee handed Celtic the championship on goal difference.
The showdown was the first time in 35 years that the top two teams in Scotland went head-to-head for the title on the final day, dating back to Rangers’ famous triumph over Aberdeen.
Despite arriving at Celtic Park with fewer than 1,000 away supporters inside the 60,000-capacity stadium, McInnes had predicted “bedlam” — and his players nearly delivered it.
Hearts frustrated Celtic early on, executing their game plan perfectly in a frantic opening half that lacked quality but carried enormous pressure.
Celtic goalkeeper, Viljami Sinisalo, misjudged Stephen Kingsley’s corner, allowing Shankland to nod home at the far post.
The buildup to the clash had already been heated following controversy surrounding a late penalty that secured Celtic’s win over Motherwell earlier in the week and kept Martin O’Neill’s side in the title race.
McInnes had slammed that decision as “disgusting”, but there was little argument when Hearts conceded a spot-kick before the break after Kieran Tierney’s cross struck Alexandros Kyziridis’ hand inside the box.
Engels stepped up and squeezed his penalty underneath Schwolow to level the score.
The introduction of Kelechi Iheanacho transformed Celtic’s attack as the Nigerian forward injected urgency and creativity into the game.
Iheanacho nearly scored after crashing an effort against the post, while Schwolow was forced into another save to deny Benjamin Nygren as Celtic piled on relentless pressure.
The breakthrough finally arrived when Maeda turned in Osmand’s cross, with VAR once again coming to Celtic’s rescue after the assistant referee initially raised the offside flag.
Osmand then completed the stunning comeback by sprinting clear from inside his own half before calmly slotting into the unguarded net to seal one of the most dramatic title wins in Scottish football history.
