Odsonne Edouard hit a second-half winner as Celtic regained their five-point lead in the Ladbrokes Premiership with a 2-1 victory over Aberdeen.
Edouard produced a smart finish in the 66th minute after the introduction of Mikey Johnston and resulting reshuffle of Celtic’s attacking line-up had given them fresh impetus.
Aberdeen striker Sam Cosgrove was sent off for a challenge on Kristoffer Ajer three minutes later after earlier heading his 20th goal of the season to cancel out Christopher Jullien’s seventh-minute opener.
It was Aberdeen’s only effort on target while Celtic almost paid for failing to capitalise on their dominance – they had 28 efforts on goal and 11 on target. The Dons back four defended their box well but the hosts were also guilty of over-playing at times.
The pattern of play emerged early on and Jullien diverted Ryan Christie’s corner against the bar before succeeding from the same source four minutes later. The Frenchman beat Ash Taylor to the delivery and volleyed a shot off the ground and into the top corner.
The champions largely pinned Aberdeen back as they went for a second. Joe Lewis pushed away Edouard’s drive after the striker turned Taylor on the edge of box and also made more routine saves from Scott Brown and James Forrest.
Chrstie shot just wide after Forrest’s run was halted and Edouard had a shot deflected wide from Boli Bolingoli’s cutback.
The hosts had a great chance to go back in front before the break but Edouard hesitated after being played through by Forrest’s return pass and Shay Logan nicked the ball away from his feet.
Aberdeen’s chances soon fell apart. Ajer had just made a risky but perfect sliding challenge on Jon Gallagher in his own box before keeping the ball in play. Cosgrove sprinted over and threw himself into a tackle, getting the ball but catching the Norwegian on the follow-through.
