A quick fire brace of goals from Jota and Aaron Mooy were enough to seal a 2-0 win for Celtic and leave Liam Fox’s side languishing at the foot of the table, alongside three other teams on 20 points.
Celtic were denied a late penalty in the first half via VAR, before a Jota header gave them the lead following a goalkeeping error. Referee Don Robertson then did point to the spot, from which Aaron Mooy converted and sealed victory before the hour mark.
Dundee United welcomed their Glasgow visitors to Tannadice, with the league leaders looking to re-gain their nine point advantage at the top of the table, following Rangers win over St Johnstone 24 hours earlier.
Kyogo Furuhashi almost gave Ange Postecoglou’s men the perfect start with the opening 20-seconds, the Japanese international latching on to a threaded pass from Jota but his striker sailed over the bar.
Jota then had a chance of his own on 22 minutes, his low half volley forcing Mark Birighitti into a smart save.
The Australian was then called upon again before the half hour mark, with Kyogo running on to Alistair’s Johnston’s slipped pass before lashing his effort off the advancing ‘keeper.
Celtic were awarded a penalty a minute before half time when it was judged that Birighitti had clattered through the back of Kyogo when jumping for the ball.
Don Robertson was sent to the VAR monitor, where he opted to reverse his decision as it appeared that the goalkeeper took the ball cleanly.
It took Celtic just six minutes of the second half to take the lead through the ever dangerous Jota. Birighitti lost the flight of Aaron Mooy’s deep cross, before the Portuguese winger sneaked a header in at the back post to give the visitors ahead.
Postecoglou’s side then doubled their advantage from the spot. After the denial of a late first half penalty, this one did stand, when Kieran Freeman handled in the box. Mooy stepped up and added a goal to his assist for the afternoon.
The quick double effectively killed the game as a contest, with the closing stages most notable for the debut of new forward Hyeon-Gyu Oh. The South Korean front man stepping into a team who. once again, find themselves nine points clear at the top of the table as they look to drive towards title glory.
