St J’stone 1 – 3 Celtic

Celtic returned to winning ways by beating St Johnstone 3-1 at McDiarmid Park to keep up the pressure on Premiership leaders Rangers.

Liel Abada scored twice early on as Celtic started the game at McDiarmid Park with real intent after dropping points at St Mirren last time out.

Illness and injury meant manager Ange Postecoglou made five changes for the game and was then dealt another blow when striker Kyogo Furuhashi was forced off injured after just 14 minutes.

Chris Kane returned to the St Johnstone squad after self-isolation and the substitute’s second-half header gave the Perth side hope.

But Nir Bitton scored a rare goal late on to secure the victory for Celtic, leaving St Johnstone without a win in their last eight Premiership matches.

More to follow…

What’s next?

After the winter break, St Johnstone travel to Hearts on Tuesday January 18 (7.45pm), while Celtic visit Hibs on Monday January 17 (7.45pm).