Watch how Callum McGregor and Brendan Rodgers superbly manage Reo Hatate at Celtic’s penalty vs Hearts

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Celtic’s win over Hearts keeps the Scottish champions’ firm grip on the top of the league intact as Brendan Rodgers’ side look unstoppable.

Scoring their 14th goal of the season against Steven Naismith’s side, Celtic are now eight points clear of Rangers with Aberdeen sitting second to the Parkhead club on goal difference.

But it was Celtic’s opening goal against Hearts that caused a bit of a talking point as Arne Engels tucked away a penalty that was meant to have been taken by midfielder, Reo Hatate.

However, Hatate handed the ball to his teammate after a quick word from Callum McGregor as Celtic’s Unique Angle captures how the Celtic captain and boss, Brendan Rodgers, superbly handled the Japanese midfielder before, during and after he gave up the chance to take the spot kick.

Hatate’s superb gesture to Celtic teammate

Just before the penalty was taken, McGregor could be seen having a chat with Hatate before he handed the ball to Arne Engels and Celtic’s Unique Angle captured that moment perfectly.

You can see McGregor giving Hatate the option of handing the ball over to Engels as he says to the Japanese midfielder, ‘It’s up to you’ before he decides to allow his teammate to open up his scoring account on his first start for Celtic.

Hatate smiling just before the spot-kick was great to see as well.

Seeing Rodgers check up on Hatate just after by putting an arm around him was a class piece of management by the Celtic boss and watching Engels embrace the Japan international was also a nice touch.

Celtic’s team spirit in plain sight

It’s clear from this footage that the players in this Celtic team are all playing for each other and look like a tight-knit group.

The fact that Hatate was willing to let his teammate grab the spotlight was a real touch of class from the midfielder.

Brendan Rodgers’ man management and McGregor’s leadership style look like they complement each other and it’s obvious that the first team squad well respects both.

Next up for Celtic is the Champions League where Rodgers will be hoping that his team can take their impressive domestic form into the European stage and pick up the first three points of the campaign.