Celtic end Scottish Premiership weekend 7 points clear as rivals hit crisis in Perth

By John McGinley

November 6, 2022

Celtic have ended the Scottish Premiership weekend seven points clear of second-placed Rangers, after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side suffered defeat away to St Johnstone today.

A rousing 4-2 win over Dundee United at Celtic Park yesterday sent Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys well clear of our rivals ahead of the Sunday football.

Today’s lunchtime kick-off saw a stunning James Brown strike from distance put St Johnstone ahead at the interval before Nicky Clark got in front of Borna Barisic to stick in a second goal with half an hour left.

A James Tavernier strike wasn’t enough to spark a comeback, with the Ibrox side slumping to defeat at 2-1.

The result puts significant pressure on Van Bronckhorst’s position. He hasn’t been the most popular man with their supporters in recent weeks even before today and opinion has undoubtedly swung against him.

It’s all good news for Celtic, who are now guaranteed to be top of the league going into the World Cup break, regardless of how the next two fixtures against Motherwell and Ross County pan out.

All signs point to that being a seven-point lead at least, providing the Bhoys with a commanding league ahead of the second half of the season.

Postecoglou and his squad will be the first to tell you that nothing is won in November, especially with three league derbies left in the campaign.

Nonetheless, it’s been a fantastic opening period of the league for Celtic and this weekend is just further evidence of it. Meanwhile, a crisis unfolds at Ibrox.

In other news, “Simple as that”; Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s damning indictment of Scottish FA approach.