Celtic thwarted Hearts’ ambitions for a historic Scottish Premiership title, as Martin O’Neill’s team staged a comeback to secure a 3-1 victory in Glasgow, marking their 14th title in 15 years.
After 40 years of dominance in Scottish football, it seemed the reign of Rangers and Celtic might be ending with Derek McInnes’ Hearts leading the league since September, but the title decider held an unexpected twist.
As the first half drew to a close, Hearts, needing just a draw to clinch the championship, took a commanding lead with captain Lawrence Shankland scoring with a header. However, a handball by Alexandros Kyziridis led to a penalty, which Arne Engels converted just before the half-time whistle.
Celtic dominated the second half but struggled to convert their possession until Daizen Maeda scored in the 87th minute, with VAR confirming the goal after checking for offside.
Callum Osmand secured the victory and the Premiership trophy when he capitalized on Hearts pushing forward, breaking free and rolling the ball into an unguarded net, leading fans to flood the pitch as the final whistle was blown. — Chambers.
O’Neill showcases Celtic’s winning mentality
Up until the 82nd minute in 11 of Celtic’s 38 league matches this season, including Saturday’s win against Hearts, the champions seemed poised to collect just 10 of the 33 points available. Yet when factoring in late goals, their tally astonishingly rises to 30 points from a potential 33 in these matches.
From Luke McCowan’s deflected effort on the opening day to the decisive strikes from Maeda and Osmand on the closing day, Celtic’s title run reflects their relentless spirit.
A significant portion of this tenacity is attributable to Martin O’Neill—who effectively emerged from managerial obscurity twice to rescue Celtic this season. His first stint lasted eight games following Brendan Rodgers’ departure in October, and he returned in January after Wilfried Nancy’s unsuccessful tenure.
With 10 goals scored in stoppage time during the Premiership season, few clubs in global football can claim the title ‘Mentality Monsters’ with more justification than O’Neill’s Celtic. — Donaldson.
Heartbreak, once more
Hearts have faced heart-wrenching losses before: in 1964-65 they lost the league to Kilmarnock on the final day based on goal average, in 1985-86 they fell to Dundee on goal difference, and now in the 2025-26 season they lost the title to Celtic just three minutes before the match concluded.
Derek McInnes and his squad, who were long shots at 150-1 to win the Premiership last May, led the table for 250 days this season and were on the brink of their first top-flight title since 1960—an achievement that would have made them the first non-Glasgow club to win since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in 1985.
Minority owner Tony Bloom, also the owner of Brighton, expressed optimism at the beginning of the season that Hearts could disrupt the Old Firm dominance, and while they nearly did so within ten months, Celtic’s late-game heroics once again led to a crushing disappointment for Hearts. — Donaldson.
– Celtic stymies Hearts’ title hopes, securing 14th Scottish Premiership triumph in 15 years
Hearts left to lament critical VAR decisions
It all came down to VAR, a recurring theme in Scottish football this week.
With just three minutes left on the clock, assistant referee David Roome raised his flag for offside, seemingly ruling out Maeda’s title-winning goal, which came from Osmand’s setup. However, upon review, it became clear the offside call was incorrect. Osmand was initially onside, and Maeda was deemed inactive; after a two-minute VAR review, the goal was confirmed.
This marked another harsh blow for Hearts in what has been a challenging week, delivering a crushing final defeat upon them.
Previously, they were denied a penalty at Fir Park when VAR intervened, asserting a foul on Alex Kyziridis—but referee Steven McLean maintained his original decision. The Scottish FA Key Match Incident panel later concurred that McLean’s call was erroneous.
Then, just days before, Celtic scored a late penalty from an extremely contentious handball decision at Motherwell to clinch a 3-2 victory.
While Saturday’s ruling was less debated, it did little to ease Hearts’ pain as the title slipped from their grasp. — Donaldson.
Key statistics
- Lawrence Shankland has netted the opening goal in six Premiership matches this season.
- Celtic have earned eight penalties this season, the most in the league.
- They scored 33 first-half goals in 38 games, the highest tally in the Premiership this season.
- Celtic have also scored 18 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, second only to Rangers, who have 20.
- Maeda has been involved in three consecutive home games, contributing five goals and one assist in the Scottish Premiership.
- Hearts had a record of W20, D2, and L1 when scoring the first goal in their league matches this season.
Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this report.