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Celtic vs Aberdeen. Scottish Premiership.

Celtic ParkAttendance58,469.

Celtic 2

  • J Neves Filipe (20th minute)
  • C McGregor (60th minute)

Aberdeen 1

  • L Ferguson (33rd minute pen)

Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen: Hosts edge to victory as Scott Brown suffers injury on return

Match report as Celtic captain Callum McGregor netted a fortuitous winner against Aberdeen; Jota opened the scoring for the hosts but Lewis Ferguson netted from the spot to level in the 33rd minute; Scott Brown went off injured on his return to Celtic Park

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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Aberdeen

Scott Brown went off injured on his return to Celtic Park after his successor as Hoops captain, Callum McGregor, netted a fortuitous winner against Aberdeen.

McGregor had his back to goal as he diverted a clearance from former team-mate Jonny Hayes into the Dons goal on the hour mark to earn Celtic a 2-1 victory.

Jota had opened the scoring for the hosts with his eighth goal of the season but Lewis Ferguson netted from the spot to level in the 33rd minute.

Celtic were not at their fluent best following their midweek trip to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen but periods of pressure told before both goals and they kept the deficit on cinch Premiership leaders Rangers to four points.

How Celtic edged past Aberdeen...

Celtic's first home game since the death of Bertie Auld allowed supporters to pay their respects to his watching family and fellow Lisbon Lions Jim Craig and John Clark.

Footage of Auld and his fellow European Cup winners was played on the big screen, accompanied by renditions of Auld Lang Syne and You'll Never Walk Alone.

McGregor and Brown came out before their team-mates and laid wreaths in the centre circle, which was covered with a giant Celtic strip adorned by a number 10 and the phrase 'That's Entertainment'.

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Auld had been entertaining the Celtic fans on and off the pitch since the 1950s and a video of him singing the Celtic song was played on the big screen as the teams emerged before a minute's applause.

Celtic got going after a slow start and put the Dons under pressure. David Bates put in a good block on David Turnbull and Josip Juranovic might have done better after being played through by McGregor before seeing his ball across the face of goal cleared.

The opener came after Turnbull opened up the visitors with a lofted pass in the path of McGregor's run.

The skipper laid the ball for Jota to finish high into the net with the aid of a deflection. A burst of Wham! rang out over the speakers as the home support hailed the George Michael lookalike.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 28: Celtic's Callum McGregor under pressure from Aberdeen's Scott Brown (right) during a Cinch premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park, on November 28, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland.  (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Image: McGregor is put under pressure from Aberdeen's Scott Brown (right)

Aberdeen were getting Marley Watkins, Christian Ramirez and Ryan Hedges forward when they had possession and they looked dangerous when they managed to get the ball and their front three ahead of Celtic's midfield.

One move led to Watkins forcing a good stop from Joe Hart and the Dons got their penalty from the resulting corner when Liel Abada tripped Bates. Ferguson sent Hart the wrong way from the spot.

Celtic were slow to respond to the setback but McGregor came close in the 54th minute with a thumping strike which left Ramirez rolling about after blocking on the line.

The home side stepped up a gear and Jota had an effort deflected over before Juranovic shot just wide.

James McCarthy then threaded a pass through for Abada, who was denied by goalkeeper Joe Lewis. The danger appeared to be over but Hayes' clearance bounced off McGregor and flashed into the net.

The Dons had already lost former Celtic midfielder Dylan McGeouch to injury before Brown went down clutching his hamstring. The midfielder got a standing ovation as he trudged off in the 66th minute.

Jota hit the post before Aberdeen rallied unexpectedly late on and Juranovic headed Ferguson's header off the line, although Lewis subsequently saved well from Kyogo Furuhashi.

What the managers said...

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "I'm really pleased, especially after Thursday night, the players put in a lot physically and emotionally. We were disappointed with the outcome and we knew a couple of days later we would have to pick it up.

"I thought our energy was really good at the start of the game, we really put some pressure on and got the goal.

"They got the penalty which brought them into the game a little bit but second half we went to another level in terms of our energy and relentlessness to chase balls down.

"And it's really important because I know how difficult that is to do physically and mentally after a big night in midweek. I'm really pleased the players got their rewards.

"This one was particularly difficult because we didn't get back to the early hours of Friday and training on Saturday was just getting them out for a bit of a jog.

"We knew Aberdeen were a hard-working team and they would be organised defensively and that we would have to bring the energy."

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass: "I'm really disappointed that, despite the amount of quality that Celtic showed, that it's a deflection that ends up costing us.

"We were difficult to play against and did carry a threat, especially first half. We felt if we could get past their first bit of pressure we had the chance to get at their back players.

"That disappeared a wee bit in the second half. I wouldn't say we didn't show it by choice in the second half, I think we had a lack of the ball, to be fair."

What's next?

Live SPFL

Celtic host Hearts on Thursday, live on Sky Sports from 7pm; kick-off 7.45pm.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen host Livingston on Wednesday; kick-off 7.45pm.

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