Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic: Benjamin Nygren winner moves Hoops above Rangers and five points off leaders Hearts
Report as Celtic move up to second in Scottish Premiership with win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie; Kieran Tierney gets the opener after just five minutes; Kevin Nisbet levels for the hosts from the spot; Substitute Benjamin Nygren restores Celtic's lead midway through second half
Wednesday 4 March 2026 23:16, UK
Benjamin Nygren came off the bench to score the winner as Celtic moved up into second place in the Premiership with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
This fixture was re-arranged after a waterlogged pitch put paid to the game in early February and the visitors knew a win in the Granite City would see them leapfrog Old Firm rivals Rangers and move five points behind league leaders Hearts.
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Martin O'Neill decided to start with Reo Hatate who scored and had been so influential in his side's comeback against Rangers at the weekend but it was Celtic's other goalscorer from that game who gave them then the lead here when Kieran Tierney struck early on.
Kevin Nisbet pulled Aberdeen back on level terms from the penalty spot after Liam Scales was penalised for fouling Toyosi Olusanya in the box but it was substitute Nygren who was the matchwinner when he prodded home from close range.
How Celtic moved five points behind Hearts with Pittodrie win
Celtic picked up where they left off in that late draw at Ibrox and broke the deadlock after just five minutes. Luke McCowan's corner picked out Scales in acres of space in the box and his acrobatic flick-on found Tierney who prodded the ball into the net from close range.
Aberdeen could not get out of their own half with Celtic playing at a much higher intensity in the opening stages. Callum McGregor went close shortly after the opener with a stinging effort from range which was well held by Dimitar Mitov.
Despite Celtic's early pressure, the hosts did settle into the game before getting their equaliser which came from the spot after Scales was adjudged to have kicked through the back of Olusanya in the box by referee Nick Walsh.
Nisbet stepped up to send Viljami Sinisalo the wrong way with a cooly taken penalty to get Aberdeen back on level terms with his eighth goal of the season.
Aberdeen had knocked Celtic out of their early rhythm, but the visitors did have a good chance to regain their lead when Sebastian Tounekti cut inside after a good break, but he drove his effort just wide.
The home side thought they had taken the lead just two minutes after the break when Nisbet got on the end of Mitchel Frame's cross, but his powerful header was tipped over the top by Sinisalo at full stretch.
Scales then had a great opportunity to nod Celtic back into the lead when he got on the end of McCowan's corner but, despite finding himself unmarked, he couldn't direct his header on target.
Martin O'Neill made a host of changes as the half wore on and it was substitute Nygren who put Celtic back in front.
The Swede was on hand to poke the ball into the net after a clever delivery across the six-yard box from James Forrest. VAR checked the goal for offside, but Nygren was adjudged to have been just on.
It nearly got worse for the home side shortly after that when Jack Milne slipped in possession allowing Daizen Maeda to run through on goal, but he got his effort all wrong and never troubled Mitov.
Aberdeen struggled to get out of their own half as the game wore on and Celtic could have put the result beyond doubt in the latter stages when Tounekti fed in Marcelo Saracchi, but the Uruguayan blasted his effort over.
O'Neill: Still a long way to go
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill on Sky Sports:
"We talked before the game about a difficult evening and I thought that's exactly what it was. We saw it through and won and that's three points, very important for us and keeps us in the hunt, if nothing else.
"When we got the goal I felt we surrendered the game and didn't really make the goal count. Aberdeen get back into the game and then in the second half Nygren scores a goal but I thought we should have had a penalty before that. I thought it was a handball, it looked pretty clear but it wasn't given. We had to wait a moment or two to see if our goal was onside or offside but thankfully it was onside.
"I thought Aberdeen played strongly today, caused us plenty of problems during the course of the game which I knew they would do. We squandered a couple of chances at the end to make it 3-1 and then you are holding on pretty nervously towards the end.
"It's the third game in six days, it's been pretty tough but it's been a great effort by the team to win this game tonight and it's very important for us. There is still a long, long way to go.
On Benjamin Arthur's late call-up after Dane Murray picked up an injury in the warm-up:
"It was very late - he has shown good attributes in training. I think he'll be a player in time, but this was a big game for him to be thrown in. If you are a substitute, you think you might get on at some stage in the game, but you are not thinking about 15-20 minutes before kick-off you are just going to step into the game. So, I thought he did very well. Overall, I was delighted with him."
On returning to Ibrox for the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Rangers this weekend:
"I'm not so sure I've relished these games in all my time. It's the league off for a little while and now let's go. We'll have a big crowd behind us, and we don't want to let them down."
Leven: Aberdeen need to be more streetwise
Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven on Sky Sports:
"Frustrating. I thought we started okay and then obviously lose a goal from a set play.
"We came into a little bit and got the goal through Kevin [Nisbet]. Second half, early on, we started really well. It's a great header [from Nisbet] and a good save [from Sinisalo].
"But overall, we need to be a bit more streetwise… there are a couple pushes where we don't go down, Lyall [Cameron] has to ask the questions at the end there in the box…
"A lot of other teams would've crumbled when Celtic got the early goal and I thought there were a lot of positives, but it's zero points at the end of the day.
"The boys never gave up and kept on going right to the end, so I can't fault their effort. We're doing alright we're just not getting the breaks or the results.
"On Saturday, we're the holders [of the Scottish Cup], we want to retain the title, so we'll look forward to that."
Boyd and Sutton analyse Celtic striker woes
Sky Sports' Chris Sutton:
"Celtic have got to this stage in the title race without a centre forward. It's unbelievable!"
"They don't look like scoring but they're finding a way."
Sky Sports' Kris Boyd on Daizen Maeda, who is without a goal in 12 games.
"It's someone going through lacking in confidence. You can't fault his work rate, it's incredible.
"Last season he was outstanding, everything he hit went in the back of the net. This season he's probably back to the Maeda of the season before last."
