Scottish Premiership title race analysed: Craig Gordon's save, Martin O'Neill's return, Rangers' winning run
Hearts are three points ahead of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with Celtic further three behind; Craig Gordon pulled off an incredible save to see Hearts beat Dundee; Martin O'Neill's return brought a 4-0 win for Celtic; Rangers have won their last five league games
Monday 12 January 2026 13:02, UK
It's the most incredible Scottish Premiership title race in recent memory with huge moments and big decisions ensuring none of the challengers slipped up at the weekend.
Martin O'Neill's latest return to Celtic saw a huge turnaround in fortunes as they eased to a 4-0 win against Dundee United.
League leaders Hearts responded by beating Dundee 1-0 at Dens Park despite playing more than half the game with 10 men.
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Then Rangers beat Aberdeen for the second time in five days to leave the top of the table unchanged.
The Jambos sit top on 47 points, three above of Rangers with Celtic a further three behind. Resurgent Rangers have played a game more than their two title rivals.
Gordon's glorious save
There were plenty of big moments in the latest round of fixtures, but Craig Gordon's Hearts return and incredible stoppage-time save topped the lot.
The 43-year-old made his first Jambos appearance of the season after Alex Schwolow was sent off with Hearts leading 1-0.
Deep into added time, Dundee looked all but certain to equalise with Emile Acquah's header.
Gordon had other ideas and defied his years to change direction and somehow claw the ball from danger.
He described it as "one of the best" saves he has ever made, while former Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley told Sky Sports it could end up being a major moment in the title race.
Hearts were second best at times against Dundee, but they found a way to win.
"That is some left hand. To have that agility at 43 is unbelievable," Sky Sports' Chris Sutton added.
"After losing the derby game, it was about finding a way to respond.
"Two 1-0 wins won't bother Derek [McInnes], just keep winning and just keep going and putting Rangers and Celtic under pressure.
O'Neill's winning return
Celtic picked up where they left off under Martin O'Neill, which again begs the question of why they replaced him with Wilfried Nancy for eight calamitous games.
The veteran boss, now in charge until the end of the season, restored Celtic's long-standing 4-3-3 formation, and it transformed a side that had struggled under the Frenchman.
"They absolutely wiped the floor with Dundee United," Sutton added.
"Arne Engels playing in that No 8 role seems to just have the confidence with Martin at the helm, as do a lot of players.
"The goals flowed and [there was] a nice balance to the team."
It was just one win, though, and O'Neill himself has warned the board that a failure to add to the squad this month could see them fail to defend their title.
"I am hopeful we are going to get some people in," he told Sky Sports News.
"But just when you think that something might happen, things change around.
"We obviously need to do it, even just to give help to the boys. There'll be no respite. If we pick up injuries to really key players here, we could be in serious trouble."
They now have a challenging run of matches away from home.
First up is Falkirk on Wednesday, Bologna then follows Sunday's Scottish Cup tie against Auchinleck Talbot and let's not forget a trip to leaders Hearts, live on Sky.
It is a tough month but many, including Sutton, are backing "magic Martin" to get it right.
Five in a row for Röhl
Since Danny Röhl took over in October, Rangers have the most wins, points and goals of any top-flight side.
He has galvanised a depleted squad and a broken fanbase to drag the Ibrox side back into a title race that many had already declared over.
And set-pieces are key to the German's success.
After scoring direct from corners against Aberdeen last Thursday, Thelo Aasgaard's goal at Pittodrie was their 11th from a corner this season.
Emmanuel Fernandez had a disallowed goal from a free-kick, while James Tavernier made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
"It [a set-piece] could always be an opener," Röhl told Sky Sports after the 2-0 win.
"The basic is the clean-sheet mentality, and we have to defend until the end. If you do this, and you do the basics right, then you deserve to win."
It is now five straight wins for Rangers since their loss to Hearts.
"Because of how bad they were at the start of the season, to come in and drag Rangers back into a title race is incredible. But you've got to kick on," said Sky Sports' Kris Boyd.
"They've got to believe. You would imagine another two or three players would come in, then you never know!"
