3 years ago
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Callum McGregor's 87th-minute strike proved decisive on his first game for two monthsReturning captain Callum McGregor scored a fantastic late winner as Celtic eventually broke down a stubborn Aberdeen side to restore their nine-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.
McGregor - who was making his comeback after two months out with a knee injury - lashed into net from 20 yards with three minutes of the 90 left.
It was Celtic's 33rd shot at Pittodrie as they finally wore down Aberdeen's deep defensive block, which ultimately proved fruitless as they ended the match with two efforts on goal.
Ange Postecoglou's Celtic move back nine clear of Rangers, while Aberdeen will end the day in third place due to postponements elsewhere.
It was fitting for Celtic that their lynchpin McGregor grabbed the crucial goal, having been out since early October, but it was just the latest example of the champions finding something at the death.
Ross County, St Johnstone, Motherwell, and Dundee United have all been downed in the dying moments of games so far this term, and McGregor's low shot into the bottom corner added Aberdeen to the list.
And while it took until the 87th minute, in truth Celtic should have had the game sewn up long before. Kyogo Furuhashi had the best chance of the lot, but somehow side-footed Liel Abada's cross wide from a few yards out.
Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos denied Abada, Reo Hatate, Jota, and others as the home side went close to clinging on to a valuable point.
But the fact they didn't throws into question their defensive approach, as they barely completed 100 passes in the game and mustered two attempts on goal, both of which were well off target.
More to follow.
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Aberdeen
Squad number24Player nameRoos
Squad number2Player nameMcCrorie
Squad number5Player nameStewart
Squad number3Player nameMacKenzie
Squad number33Player nameKennedy
Squad number8Player nameBarron
Squad number16Player nameRamadani
Squad number20Player nameClarkson
Squad number22Player nameCoulson
Squad number9Player nameMiovski
Squad number11Player nameDuk
Squad number7Player nameMorris
Squad number17Player nameHayes
Squad number23Player nameDuncan
Celtic
Squad number1Player nameHart
Squad number56Player nameRalston
Squad number20Player nameCarter-Vickers
Squad number4Player nameStarfelt
Squad number3Player nameTaylor
Squad number42Player nameMcGregor
Squad number33Player nameO'Riley
Squad number41Player nameHatate
Squad number38Player nameMaeda
Squad number8Player nameFuruhashi
Squad number17Player nameJota
Squad number7Player nameGiakoumakis
Squad number11Player nameAbada
Squad number13Player nameMooy
Squad number14Player nameTurnbull
Squad number49Player nameForrest
Line-ups
Aberdeen
Formation 3-5-2
- 24Roos
- 2McCrorie
- 5StewartSubstituted forMorrisat 90+3'minutes
- 3MacKenzie
- 33Kennedy
- 8Barron
- 16Ramadani
- 20ClarksonBooked at 66minsSubstituted forDuncanat 76'minutes
- 22Coulson
- 9MiovskiSubstituted forHayesat 73'minutes
- 11de Barros Lopes
Substitutes
- 1Lewis
- 7Morris
- 10Besuijen
- 17Hayes
- 23Duncan
- 25Richardson
- 36Bavidge
- 46Marshall
- 99Ramírez
Celtic
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Hart
- 56Ralston
- 20Carter-Vickers
- 4Starfelt
- 3Taylor
- 42McGregor
- 33O'RileySubstituted forMooyat 90'minutes
- 41HatateSubstituted forTurnbullat 72'minutes
- 38MaedaSubstituted forAbadaat 45'minutes
- 8FuruhashiSubstituted forGiakoumakisat 72'minutes
- 17Neves FilipeSubstituted forForrestat 73'minutes
Substitutes
- 6Jenz
- 7Giakoumakis
- 11Abada
- 13Mooy
- 14Turnbull
- 25Bernabei
- 31Siegrist
- 49Forrest
- 50Lawal
Referee:Steven McLean
Attendance:15,567
Live Text
Match ends, Aberdeen 0, Celtic 1.
Second Half ends, Aberdeen 0, Celtic 1.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jack MacKenzie.
Substitution, Aberdeen. Shayden Morris replaces Anthony Stewart.
Attempt missed. Ross McCrorie (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Duk.
Substitution, Celtic. Aaron Mooy replaces Matt O'Riley.
Goal! Aberdeen 0, Celtic 1. Callum McGregor (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by James Forrest.
Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Callum McGregor.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Kelle Roos.
Attempt saved. Liel Abada (Celtic) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by David Turnbull.
Attempt missed. Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Matt O'Riley.
Attempt saved. David Turnbull (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Attempt missed. Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Aberdeen. Ryan Duncan replaces Leighton Clarkson.
Foul by David Turnbull (Celtic).
Matthew Kennedy (Aberdeen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Aberdeen. Jonny Hayes replaces Bojan Miovski because of an injury.
Substitution, Celtic. James Forrest replaces Jota.
Substitution, Celtic. Giorgos Giakoumakis replaces Kyogo Furuhashi.
Substitution, Celtic. David Turnbull replaces Reo Hatate.
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