Dominant Heart of Midlothian Overpower Meek Celtic to Go 8 Pts in Front

The dominant Edinburgh side surged eight ahead of their Glasgow rivals at the summit of the Scottish top flight to bolster their early-season title credentials and worsen the malaise around the Celtic team.

Alexandros Kyziridis' fine strike and Lawrence Shankland's penalty gave Derek McInnes' side a 3-1 lead that the title holders could not overcome.

Dane Murray - one of three youngsters in the Celtic XI - scored an own goal in the early stages to put the home side ahead at a bouncing their home ground, and it was the youngster's infringement that led to the spot-kick.

A stylish finish from McGregor of the season had swiftly equalized the first goal, and Benjamin Nygren almost put Celtic in front, opting for finesse over power and allowing the Hearts keeper to save from close range.

But Derek McInnes' irrepressible Hearts regained dominance to hand the visitors to back-to-back losses for the first time since 2023.

It also gives the Edinburgh side a significant lead at the top of the table.

The last time they were so far clear was in 2005-06 under George Burley, when they ultimately finished second - a rare instance that a team has failed to win the title having held such a lead in the past 27 years.

McInnes, whose Aberdeen side were runners-up to the champions on four occasions, has been working hard to downplay title talk, as the club seek their first top-flight crown since 1960.

Rodgers has seen it all before at Celtic - both perfect and shaky beginnings to a season. He's yet to finish second best.

But on the weekend's performance, this Hearts team showed they deserve serious consideration.

Match Analysis: Hearts Capitalize of Depleted Celtic

The Edinburgh side started with the confidence of a side unbeaten in the league this season - the popular attacker delivered a ball for Shankland to fire off target.

The Glasgow team didn't help themselves with some uncharacteristic carelessness in possession and they faltered under their first real examination.

Claudio Braga's header was touched on to a post by the Celtic keeper and the follow-up from Shankland was turned into the net by the hapless defender, in for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The away side found their rhythm and started building moves. From a flowing attack, Sebastian Tounekti released the full-back to square for the captain, who rolled in.

Aside from the opportunity for Nygren, the visitors found it hard to generate chances for striker Kenny or his substitute Yamada amid the absence of injured forwards their key strikers.

Hearts rediscovered their energy and adaptability in creating chances in the opposition half. The Greek forward, a standout performer of the club's scouting network, fired a low shot past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.

Immediately after, the defender tripped Braga in the right side of the box and the penalty taker scored. And it could've been an more comprehensive victory, had substitute Ageu not been stopped by Schmeichel.

The visitors' performance after the break was somewhat summed up in a couple of moments involving record signing Arne Engles.

The set-piece from Engles delivery was in sharp opposition to his European display in the Europa League win over their Austrian opponents and the national team player was then yellow-carded for a professional foul.

Post-Match Comments

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: "You see how hard the players work, the team spirit. That's not sufficient on its own to win games week in, week out.

"Our strength lies in, is good technical ability. You're witnessing it from multiple individuals who have been here previously. Recent additions are eager to show that.

"We're in a positive moment at the minute, but it's only three points. It's crucial for us to maintain this form. We've got much work ahead, loads to do. Following the initial fixtures is typically a benchmark of where you are."

The Celtic boss: "The second goal was disappointing from our perspective. We failed to push up when the play was recycled as a line so when they play it, they ought to be caught offside but weren't. We have got to do better with the shot.

"There's still so many points to play for. It's still so early. It's just nine matches. Clearly, being eight points behind is not what we would want. The comfort is there's numerous fixtures to play.

"We now have to focus on the here and now and look to find more consistency and better performance in our play."

Upcoming Fixtures for Both Sides?

The Glasgow club are back at home on midweek against newly-promoted Falkirk (19:45 GMT). At the same time in the top division, Hearts are at their opponents' ground.