Iheanacho Inspires Late Celtic Comeback to Clinch Scottish Premiership

Celtic snatched the Scottish Premiership title from Hearts in the dying minutes of a dramatic final day of the season on Saturday, scoring two late goals to secure a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park.

The win sealed their 14th league title in 15 years, continuing the 41-year dominance exerted by Celtic and Rangers over the Scottish top flight.

Needing a win to overtake the Jambos at the top of the table, Martin O’Neill’s men had to dig deep to deny Hearts their first league crown in 66 years.

The visitors, managed by Derek McInnes, successfully quieted the partisan home crowd early on, taking the lead in the 43rd minute when Lawrence Shankland headed in a corner at the far post, capitalizing on a misjudgment by Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo.

Celtic found a lifeline in first-half stoppage time. After Kieran Tierney’s cross struck the outstretched hand of Alexandros Kyziridis inside the penalty area, Arne Engels squeezed the resulting spot-kick under Hearts goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow to level the score heading into the break.

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The second half proved to be a tense affair, with Hearts resisting the pressure well until the introduction of Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho. Iheanacho’s arrival injected much-needed cutting edge into the Celtic attack, instantly putting the Hearts defense on the back foot.

He came agonizingly close to scoring when his strike hit the base of the post, while Schwolow was forced into a crucial save to tip over Benjamin Nygren’s powerful drive.

The relentless pressure finally broke the Jambos’ resolve three minutes from time. Daizen Maeda bundled the ball into the net from Callum Osmand’s cross.

Though initially flagged for offside, a VAR review reversed the decision, sparking wild celebrations inside the 60,000-capacity stadium.

With Hearts desperately searching for an equalizer and their goalkeeper caught out of position up the pitch, Callum Osmand broke clear from his own half with the final kick of the game, walking the ball into an unguarded net to seal the 3-1 victory.

The defeat marks another devastating final-day heartbreak for Hearts, echoing similar collapses in 1965 against Kilmarnock and in 1986 against Dundee, where late goals cost them the title.

For Celtic, the dramatic turnaround caps off an intense and controversial season, maintaining their firm grip on Scottish football.