Celtic extended their Scottish Premiership lead to 12 points over Rangers as their attacking persistence paid off against Kilmarnock.
After a dominant half, Jota broke the deadlock for the league leaders just before the break, sliding in to meet Daizen Maeda’s low cross to score his eighth goal of the season.
And Celtic doubled their lead after the break when Kilmarnock defender Ash Taylor deflected Reo Hatate’s cross into his own goal under pressure from Kyogo Furuhashi.
Rangers – in second place – travel to face Dundee United on Sunday (16:00 GMT) with precious little margin for error.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Celtic
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Hart
- 2johnston
- 20Carter-Vickers
- 4Starfelt
- 25Bernabei
- 13MooySubstituted forO’Rileyat 63′minutes
- 42McGregor
- 41HatateSubstituted forTurnbullat 83′minutes
- 38MaedaSubstituted forForestat 83′minutes
- 8FuruhashiSubstituted forGiakoumakisat 63′minutes
- 17Neve FilipeSubstituted forAbadaat 63′minutes
Substitutes
- 6jenz
- 7Giakoumakis
- 11Abada
- 14Turnbull
- 18Kobayashi
- 29Bain
- 33O’Riley
- 49Forest
- 88Yuranovic
Kilmarnock
Formation 5-3-2
- 20Walkers
- 2mayo
- 19Wright
- 5Taylor
- 6Stokes
- 33chrisene
- 4PowerSubstituted forLyonsat 64′minutes
- 31PolworthSubstituted forMurrayat 75′minutes
- 7McKenzieSubstituted forMcInroyat 85′minutes
- 16RobinsonSubstituted forArmstrongat 64′minutes
- 23VassellSubstituted forDoidgeat 64′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Hemming
- 8Alston
- 11Armstrong
- 14Sanders
- 15Murray
- 17Lyons
- 18waters
- 21McInroy
- 26Doidge
Live Text
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Match ends, Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 0.
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Second half ends, Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 0.
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Attempt missed. David Turnbull (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by James Forrest.
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Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the center of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by David Turnbull.
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Attempt blocked. Alexandro Bernabei (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Attempt missed. Callum McGregor (Celtic) left footed shot from the center of the box is too high. Assisted by Alistair Johnston following a corner.
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Corner, Celtic. Granted by Lewis Mayo.
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Attempt saved. Matt O’Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from the center of the box is saved.
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James Forrest (Celtic) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the center of the box following a corner.
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Attempt saved. Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Attempt saved. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Matt O’Riley with a cross.
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Corner, Celtic. Licensed by Brad Lyons.
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Attempt missed. Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock) header from the center of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Fraser Murray with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Kilmarnock. Granted by Giorgos Giakoumakis.
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Corner, Kilmarnock. Granted by Carl Starfelt.
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Corner, Kilmarnock. Granted by Cameron Carter-Vickers.
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Substitution, Kilmarnock. Kerr McInroy replaces Rory McKenzie.
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Foul by Callum McGregor (Celtic).
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Daniel Armstrong (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Celtic. David Turnbull replaces Reo Hatate.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = pure perfection
Celtic
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Team number1Player nameHart
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Team number2Player namejohnston
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Team number20Player nameCarter-Vickers
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Team number4Player nameStarfelt
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Team number25Player nameBernabei
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Team number13Player nameMooy
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Team number42Player nameMcGregor
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Team number41Player nameHatate
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Team number38Player nameMaeda
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Team number8Player nameFuruhashi
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Team number17Player nameJota
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Team number7Player nameGiakoumakis
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Team number11Player nameAbada
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Team number14Player nameTurnbull
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Team number33Player nameO’Riley
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Team number49Player nameForest
Kilmarnock
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Team number20Player nameWalkers
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Team number2Player namemayo
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Team number19Player nameWright
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Team number5Player nameTaylor
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Team number6Player nameStokes
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Team number33Player namechrisene
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Team number4Player namePower
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Team number31Player namePolworth
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Team number7Player nameMcKenzie
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Team number16Player nameRobinson
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Team number23Player nameVassell
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Team number11Player nameArmstrong
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Team number15Player nameMurray
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Team number17Player nameLyons
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Team number21Player nameMcInroy
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Team number26Player nameDoidge