- Celtic faced Hearts hoping to make the most of Rangers’ defeat on Saturday.
- But they fought back and succumbed to a damaging 2-0 defeat to remain second.
- Is Kevin De Bruyne’s confidence churlish or should we defend the self-confidence of the world’s best? everything is beginning podcast
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Hearts took advantage of Yang Hyun-jun’s early red card to inflict a second 2-0 defeat on title-chasing Celtic in the space of three months in an eventful Premiership clash at Tynecastle.
The Hoops arrived in Edinburgh knowing that a win would have put them back at the top of the league after city rivals Rangers suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Motherwell the previous day.
But their hopes of achieving this feat were severely undermined during a dramatic first quarter of an hour in which their striker Adam Idah had a penalty saved by Zander Clark and then Yang saw red for a dangerous high tackle on Alex Cochrane.
Hearts, who defeated Brendan Rodgers’ side in Glasgow in mid-December, made the most of the extra man when Jorge Grant scored a penalty late in the first half before Lawrence Shankland scored his 27th goal of the season in one day as Scotland coach Steve Clarke and his assistant John Carver watched from the Tynecastle stands.
The victory put the Jambos 13 points clear in third place.
Celtic suffered a damaging defeat to Hearts as they went down 2-0 at Tynecastle on Sunday.
Goals from Lawrence Shankland (pictured) and Jorge Grant secured a big win for Hearts
Grant had earlier disallowed a first-half penalty after an extremely chaotic first 45 minutes.
Celtic midfielder Yang Hyun-Jun sent off for catching Alex Cochrane with a high boot
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Hearts made four changes to the team that started Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to city rivals Hibernian as Toby Sibbick, Dexter Lembikisa, Grant and Beni Baningime replaced Frankie Kent, Nathaniel Atkinson, Cammy Devlin and Kenneth Vargas.
There was a forced change to the Celtic team that began the 7-1 destruction of Dundee in midweek when captain Callum McGregor missed with an Achilles problem. His place in the center of the field was taken by Paulo Bernardo.
Hearts got off to a bright start and had a good chance in the eighth minute when Shankland’s cross from the right hit Cochrane just inside the area, but the left-back shot poorly and missed wide.
Then came a couple of big moments in quick succession where Celtic allowed the game to swing heavily in favor of the hosts.
The Hoops were awarded a penalty in the 11th minute when Cochrane was adjudged to have fouled Yang, but Idah saw his low shot saved by the legs of Clark, another Hearts player looking to impress the Scotland management team in the period. previous. to the European Championship this summer.
Yang and Cochrane were again involved in the next major conflict a few minutes later, when the Korean midfielder hit the Englishman in the face with a high foot.
Referee Don Robertson initially cautioned the Celtic player but later upgraded it to a red card after VAR John Beaton advised him to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
This dramatic turn of events sparked local support and left Rodgers’ team facing a daunting task in their quest to return to the top of the league.
Despite being a man down, Celtic had the ball in the net in the 22nd minute when Bernardo’s low shot went wide of both posts, but the flag was raised instantly to disrupt the celebrations, with Idah adjudged offside in the previous period.
Hearts sensed their chance of victory, however, and Alan Forrest headed in a Lembikisa cross in the 27th minute before Shankland was denied by Liam Scales’ brilliant goal-saving effort.
Another big decision came for Hearts in the 40th minute when, after a lengthy VAR review, they were awarded a penalty after the ball landed on Tomoki Iwata’s arm as he stood up among a group of bodies to try to head in. ball outside his area. Grant kept his cool to send Joe Hart the wrong way.
Adam Idah also missed a penalty in what turned out to be a disastrous first half for Celtic.
The result increases the pressure on Brendan Rodgers after a difficult week for him
It also meant Celtic failed to take advantage after Rangers lost to Motherwell on Saturday.
Rodgers’ team remains second, two points behind their arch-rivals, with only nine games remaining
Hearts thought they had doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time when Shankland scored a low shot from eight yards after being fed by a pass from Forrest, but the goal was eventually disallowed for offside following a lengthy review. of the VAR.
Celtic sent on Kyogo Furuhashi in place of Bernardo for the start of the second half. But the Hoops found themselves two down in the 56th minute when Shankland scored a clinical low shot from 15 yards after team-mate Calem Nieuwenhof slipped while setting up a shot and inadvertently returned the ball into the striker’s path with his help from a Cut to Celtic left back Greg Taylor.
The visitors were unable to muster a response and Hearts saw off victory in impressive fashion, sparking scenes of jubilation at full time at Tynecastle.