Celtic back on top after beating Livingston

2 years ago 114

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Paolo Bernardo strikes to make it 2-0 in West Lothian

Celtic returned to top spot in the Scottish Premiership after a strong second-half showing overpowered stubborn Livingston.

The breakthrough came from a fortuitous Jamie Brandon own goal and home goalkeeper Shamal George was kept busy before Paulo Bernardo crashed in a splendid strike.

Matt O'Riley added a third late on, his tame shot eluding George.

The defending champions lead Rangers by a point again having played a game more, with the Old Firm rivals ready to meet at Ibrox next Sunday.

Bottom club Livingston remain 10 points adrift of Ross County with seven games to go.

Reo Hatate was making just his fifth league start of the season following a series of injuries and the Japan midfielder curled a strike wide from 20 yards during a drab first half.

Despite having 76% possession, the visitors' first shot on target came in stoppage time before the interval, with George at full stretch to push away a sharp effort from Kyogo Furuhashi.

The striker had earlier been the subject of a brief VAR check for a possible penalty when Nicky Devlin appeared to dunt his heel with a challenge from behind.

The anxiousness in the three stands containing Celtic fans lifted four minutes into the second half when Hatate found room to test George from close range and the rebound struck Brandon on the chest before trundling over the line.

George then had to look lively to keep out a rising strike from Nicolas Kuhn and made a great diving stop to thwart Kyogo again.

Bernardo replaced the impressive Hatate and wasted no time in making an impression, driving forward to work a one-two with O'Riley before drilling the ball low into the corner of the net from near the edge of the box.

The one-way traffic continued and O'Riley completed the scoring with his 12th goal of the season when George failed to stop a weak shot.

Player of the match - Reo Hatate (Celtic)

On his comeback from injury, the midfielder reminded us how important a player he is for Celtic

More to follow.

Line-ups

Livingston

Formation 4-2-3-1

1George
21Nottingham
5DevlinBooked at 46mins
6Obileye
24Kelly
18HoltSubstituted forAndersonat 73'minutes
12Brandon
8Pittman
10KellySubstituted forGuthrieat 80'minutes
16BradleySubstituted forMackayat 53'minutes
33Yengi

Substitutes

4Carson
9Anderson
11Mackay
20Sangare
23McGovern
28Guthrie
32Hamilton

Celtic

Formation 4-3-3

1Hart
2Johnston
20Carter-Vickers
5Scales
3Taylor
33O'RileySubstituted forKellyat 87'minutes
24Iwata
41HatateSubstituted forGonçalves Bernardoat 65'minutes
10KühnSubstituted forYangat 71'minutes
8FuruhashiSubstituted forIdahat 71'minutes
38MaedaSubstituted forForrestat 87'minutes

Substitutes

9Idah
13Yang
17Nawrocki
28Gonçalves Bernardo
29Bain
48Kelly
49Forrest
56Ralston
57Welsh

Referee:Don Robertson

Attendance:8,396

Live Text

Match ends, Livingston 0, Celtic 3.
Second Half ends, Livingston 0, Celtic 3.
Attempt missed. Jamie Brandon (Livingston) right footed shot from outside the box is too high following a fast break.
Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kurtis Guthrie (Livingston).
Attempt missed. Daniel Kelly (Celtic) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by James Forrest with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jamie Brandon.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Michael Devlin.
Attempt saved. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Yang Hyun-Jun.
Attempt missed. Adam Idah (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Substitution, Celtic. Daniel Kelly replaces Matt O'Riley.
Substitution, Celtic. James Forrest replaces Daizen Maeda.
Greg Taylor (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tete Yengi (Livingston).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Daniel Mackay (Livingston).
Goal! Livingston 0, Celtic 3. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Adam Idah.
Attempt blocked. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Paulo Bernardo.
Attempt blocked. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Greg Taylor.
Attempt missed. Bruce Anderson (Livingston) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Daniel Mackay.