EDINBURGH. Celtic had a narrow win over Hearts. Celtic was unquestionably better in terms of ball possession (63%) and that was among the factors of its victory.​

The match was played at the Tynecastle Park stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday and it started at 12:30 pm local time. The referee was Nick Walsh with the collaboration of David Roome and Ross MacLeod. The 4th official was Craig Napier. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was cold at 12.7 degrees Celsius or 54.88 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 97%.​

Match Statistics​

Hearts

3 - 4

Celtic

  • ! 37 Ball Possession 63
Shots
  • 17 Total 11
  • 9 On Target 8
  • 8 Off Target 3
  • 0 Shots blocked 0
  • 77 Attack 128
  • 35 Dangerous attack 39
  • 0 Ball safe 0
  • 1 Penalties 0
  • 3 Corners 6
Fouls
  • 9 Total 15
  • 2 Yellow Cards 1
  • 0 Double Yellow 0
  • 0 Red Card 0
Other
  • 4 Substitutions 4

Ball possession

Celtic had a strong ball possession 63% while Hearts was struggling with a 37% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Celtic was more pushing with 39 dangerous attacks and 11 shots of which 8 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Celtic won the contest.​

Hearts shot 17 times, 9 on target, 8 off target. Regarding the opposition, Celtic shot 11 times, 8 on target, 3 off target.

Cards

Hearts received 2 yellow cards (T. Sibbick and C. Smith). Regarding the opposition, Celtic received 1 yellow card (M. Jenz).

Match Timeline

15'
James Forrest(goal)
21'
A. Ralston(var)
L. Shankland- sub ->S. Humphrys
39'
41'
L. Shankland(penalty)
45'
L. Shankland(goal)
47'
Toby Sibbick- Yellow
55'
55'
59'
Daizen Maeda(goal)
L. Shankland(penalty)
65'
67'
69'
66'
G. Taylor- sub ->A. Bernabei
Alan Forrest- sub ->J. Ginnelly
70'
76'
G. Taylor(goal)
85'
85'
90'
90'
90'

Standings

Standings
Team
Pts
Pl
Last 5
Celtic
92
33
Rangers
79
33
Aberdeen
53
33
Hearts
48
33
Hibernian
44
33
St. Mirren
44
33
Livingston
42
33
Motherwell
37
33
St. Johnstone
33
33
Dundee United
31
33
Kilmarnock
31
33
Ross County
27
33

After playing this encounter, Hearts will stay with 14 points to hold in the 7th place. On the other side, Celtic will have 30 points to hold in the 1st place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Premiership, Hearts will host Hibernian on the 2nd of January with a 21-11 head to head in favor of Hearts (16 draws).

Celtic will play away agasint Rangers on the 2nd of January with a 23-19 head to head stats in favor of Celtic (9 draws).

Hearts – Formation

Hearts
G
C. Gordon 1.Scotland
5.6
D
Alex Cochrane 19.England
6.4
D
Toby Sibbick 21.England
6.0
55'
D
Stephen Kingsley 3.Scotland
6.4
D
Michael Smith 2.Northern Ireland
6.0
85'
M
Robert Snodgrass 77.Scotland
6.4
M
Orestis Kiomourtzoglou 8.Germany
7.1
85'
M
Barrie McKay 18.Scotland
6.2
M
Josh Ginnelly 30.England
7.0
70'
M
Cammy Devlin 14.Australia
7.7
F
Stephen Humphrys 29.England
6.2
39'
Substitutes
G
Z. Clark 28.Scotland
G
R. Stewart 13.Scotland
D
L. Neilson 20.Scotland
M
Andy Halliday 16.Scotland
85'
M
Jorge Grant 7.England
F
Connor Smith 27.Scotland
85' 90'
F
L. Shankland 9.Scotland
9.0
39' 45', 47', 65'
F
Alan Forrest 17.Scotland
6.6
70'
F
Euan Henderson 22.Scotland

Hearts started with a mid-fielder-oriented line-up (4-1-4-1).

The manager Robbie Neilson decided to play with the following team: Craig Gordon (5.6), Michael Smith (6.0), Toby Sibbick (6.0), Stephen Kingsley (6.4), Alex Cochrane (6.4), Cameron Devlin (7.7), Josh Ginnelly (7.0), Orestis Kiomourtzoglou (7.1), Robert Snodgrass (6.4), Barrie McKay (6.2) and Stephen Humphrys (6.2).

The home team had on the bench: Zander Clark, Ross Stewart, Lewis Neilson, Andy Halliday, Connor Smith, Jorge Grant, Lawrence Shankland (9.0), Alan Forrest (6.6) and Euan Henderson.

Substitutions

Hearts made 4 changes: S. Humphrys for L. Shankland (39′), J. Ginnelly for A. Forrest (70′), M. Smith for A. Halliday (85′) and O. Kiomourtzoglou for C. Smith (85′).

Best player: Lawrence Shankland​

As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Hearts was Lawrence Shankland.

His rating is (9.0) with 3 goals, 14 passes (57% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 4 duels out of 6.

His performance was remarkable also because he started the match from the bench before entering the filed in the 39′.

Celtic – Formation

Celtic
G
Joe Hart 1.England
6.3
D
A. Ralston 56.Scotland
6.5
D
Cameron Carter-Vickers 20.United States
6.2
D
Moritz Jenz 6.Germany
6.4
41'
D
Alexandro Bernabéi 25.Argentina
5.9
66'
M
Aaron Mooy 13.Australia
7.2
M
Matt O'Riley 33.England
6.8
M
Reo Hatate 41.Japan
6.7
90'
F
James Forrest 49.Scotland
7.1
69' 15'
F
G. Giakoumakis 7.Greece
7.1
55'
F
Daizen Maeda 38.Japan
7.2
67' 59'
Substitutes
G
B. Siegrist 31.Switzerland
D
Josip Juranovic 88.Croatia
D
G. Taylor 3.Scotland
7.2
66' 76'
M
Oliver Abildgaard 28.Denmark
90'
M
Sead Haksabanovic 9.Montenegro
6.8
67'
M
James McCarthy 16.Republic of Ireland
M
Yosuke Ideguchi 30.Japan
F
Kyogo Furuhashi 8.Japan
F
Liel Abada 11.Israel
6.5
69'

Celtic started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

Angelos Postecoglou played with: Joe Hart (6.3), Anthony Ralston (6.5), Cameron Carter-Vickers (6.2), Moritz Jenz (6.4), Alexandro Bernabei (5.9), Aaron Mooy (7.2), Matt O’Riley (6.8), Reo Hatate (6.7), James Forrest (7.1), Giorgos Giakoumakis (7.1) and Daizen Maeda (7.2).

They had on the bench: Benjamin Siegrist, Josip Juranović, Greg Taylor (7.2), Oliver Abildgaard, Sead Hakšabanović (6.8), James McCarthy, Yosuke Ideguchi, Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada (6.5).

Substitutions

Celtic made 4 changes: D. Maeda for S. Haksabanovic (67′), J. Forrest for L. Abada (69′), A. Bernabei for G. Taylor (66′) and R. Hatate for O. Abildgaard (90′).

Best player: Aaron Mooy​

The player that probably impressed the most for Celtic was Aaron Mooy even if he didn’t score any goal.

His rating is (7.2) with 40 passes (77% accurate) and 4 key passes. He was won 5 duels out of 11. He performed 7 crosses.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Premiership.​