Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 to open four-point Premiership lead

Celtic beat Heart of Midlothian 7-1 at Celtic Park on Sunday, 18 October 2026, moving four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. BBC Sport reported the result, and the Scottish Professional Football League confirmed the four-point lead.

Hearts had arrived in Glasgow as the division’s top scorers and could have moved within two points of Celtic with a win, according to the Press Association’s match report published by the Guardian. Instead, they conceded twice inside 10 minutes and trailed 5-1 at half-time.

How Celtic scored seven against Hearts

Laurent Mendy scored Hearts’ goal, but Nygren forced an own goal from Jamie McCart before the interval. Camilo Durán added Celtic’s sixth four minutes after the restart, and Nygren scored again to complete the 7-1 result. Osmand and Nygren finished with two goals each.

Hearts’ chances and defensive errors

The scoreline came despite Hearts having more shots than Celtic, 20 to 18, and more possession, 52% to 48%, according to the BBC’s match account. Hearts also had more shots inside the box, 16 to 13. Only Mendy’s effort found the net; the Press Association described Celtic as far stronger in the final third and reported that Hearts’ slack defending contributed to the margin.

English attributed the defeat in part to Hearts’ poor concentration and lack of physicality at the two early set pieces. He also pointed to misplaced passes that gave Celtic space to attack, while highlighting the contributions of Nygren, Osmand, Durán and Haissem Hassan. His account described how Hassan hit a post after turning away from Stephen Kingsley.

The meeting followed Celtic’s last-gasp title success against Hearts, sealed by an Osmand goal, the Press Association reported. This time, his two goals helped Celtic extend their lead in the current Premiership table, while Hearts missed their chance to close the gap in a direct meeting with the leaders.