Celtic moved three points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership after a high-powered second-half display earned Brendan Rodgers’ side a 4-1 win at Hearts.
The Hoops have been tracked by the Dons all season but the Pittodrie side’s first league defeat of the campaign away to St Mirren earlier in the day paved the way for Rodgers’ men to assert their authority at the summit.
The Hoops were off the pace in the first half and looked at risk of a first domestic defeat since they lost on their last visit to Tynecastle almost nine months ago.
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Kyogo pounces on a fortunate bounce to give Celtic the lead against Hearts.
But the champions managed to subdue Hearts in the second half and their class shone through as they pulled away through goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and substitute Adam Idah, who hit a double either side of a consolation strike from home substitute Musa Drammeh.
The Parkhead side have now won six matches in a row in all competitions ahead of their Champions League showdown at home to Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Hearts, who travel to Belgium to face Cercle Brugge in the Conference League the following evening, remain 11th in the table, only one point from the bottom.
Hoops second half class asserts title race authority
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Nicolas Kuhn grabs the second goal for Celtic
Celtic saw more of the ball in a goalless first half, but it was Hearts who enjoyed a flurry of chances thanks to cutting counter-attacking play.
Blair Spittal and James Penrice were among those to be denied by Kasper Schmeichel, while Alan Forrest saw his strike blocked by Cameron Carter-Vickers at the end of a sweeping move ignited by the outstanding Penrice.
But having struggled to trouble Craig Gordon in the first half, Celtic forced the Hearts goalkeeper into a superb save early in the second, Kyogo Furuhashi seeing his close-range effort denied after pivoting in the box.
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Musa Drammeh pulled one back for Hearts to make it 3-1
The Celtic forward breached Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute, though, finishing at the second time of asking after Daniel Oyegoke had ceded possession in a dangerous area. Spurred on, the visitors then extended their lead through Scottish Premiership top scorer Nicolas Kuhn, who drove into the left-hand-side of the Hearts box and powered his finish into the near top corner.
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Substitute Adam Idah slots home Celtic’s third
Though Hearts responded well, coming closest when Anthony Ralston diverted a curling cross onto his own crossbar, Celtic showed their ruthless edge in the closing stages, substitute Adam Idah scoring with just his third touch.
Musa Drammeh, on from the Hearts bench, reduced the deficit to two with a superb strike from outside the box, but Celtic remained on top and Idah converted a stoppage-time penalty to seal an important win.
