A monumental moment in the Premiership title race, and perhaps the most defining one for Celtic and Martin O’Neill.
By all intents and purposes, Scotland’s main crown was heading to Tynecastle, because Celtic would have needed to beat Hearts by four goals on Saturday to win the title.
But then Celtic were awarded a penalty, which has now caused chaos around the footballing world, and Kelechi Iheanacho dispatched the spot-kick to help the Hoops win the game right at the death at Fir Park.
67 Hail Hail looked at three things we learned from the match, with Sebastian Tounekti, Callum McGregor and a broken Hearts all featuring.
Who was your Celtic MOTM vs Motherwell?
Another broken performance from Sebastian Tounekti
The one change O’Neill made from Celtic’s win over Rangers from the weekend was Luke McCowan making way and Tounekti coming into the XI.
The story of Tounekti’s debut campaign at Celtic has been that he is an impact player, and not somebody who does the job as a starter.
That proved to be the case once again. It was a broken performance from the Tunisia star.
The versatile forward got into several good positions in the final third, but that final ball lacked again, and again and again. It was no surprise that he was subbed off.
| Stat (Tounekti) | Value |
| Minutes played | 70 |
| Total shots | 0 |
| Big chances created | 1 |
| Accurate crosses | 1 |
| Accurate passes in the opposition half | 8/16 (50%) |
| Touches | 33 |
| Successful dribbles | 1/3 |
| Possession lost | 12 |
| Sofascore rating | 6.1 |
Callum McGregor comes to life in the second half
Celtic deserved to go a goal down in the first half, before Daizen Maeda’s leveller, following a cute finish from a very tight angle.
At the break, with Hearts leading Falkirk, those in green and white knew they had to come out in the second half and take all three points.
Yes, the Hoops suffered towards the end, but there were periods in that second half when McGregor was demanding the ball, driving at Motherwell’s backline, and showcasing why he steps up in pressure moments.
More of the same at the weekend when Hearts visit Parkhead for the title showdown.
Hearts are broken
Derek McInnes labelled Celtic’s penalty award as ‘disgusting.’ Now they travel to Glasgow, knowing they simply can’t lose in front of a fired-up crowd.
Celtic’s late winner has broken Hearts, and it was proven by the air of ‘deflation’ inside Tynecastle, once Iheanacho showcased his cool and slotted home the winner.
Yes, Hearts will pick themselves up, come to Celtic Park for the final game, and throw everything and anything they can at the current champions.
But this is where Celtic showcase to the world why they have won 13 out of the last 14 titles.
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