Scottish PremiershipSunday, November 30, 2025Easter Road, Edinburgh HIBS…1(Boyle 56 ) CELTIC…2(Maeda 27, Engels 28) Celtic’s winning run continued with a 2-1 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road this afternoon, with two first-half goals enough to deliver all three points in the capital. Celtic put together a clever move early in proceedings when Reo Hatate picked up the ball in space in the centre of the pitch and drove forward before clipping a pass through to Luke McCowan, but Hibs’ keeper was quick to close the Celtic midfielder down and the chance was gone. That combination of McCowan and Hatate looked like it had set up the opening goal a few minutes later when, after some nice link-up play in the middle, the ball was shifted to Yang who delivered a cross to Daizen Maedan. He, in turn, found the back of the net from close range, but the offside flag cut the celebrations short. Hibs then looked to exert some pressure of their own with a ball in to the Celtic box from the left wing which was met by Martin Boyle, but fortunately for the Celts, the Hibs man was unable to hit the target. In Rotterdam on Thursday night, Celtic profited from a goalkeeping error which led to Reo Hatate’s cool finish from distance, and there was something of a repeat of that at Easter Road this afternoon, when a poor kick-out from Sallinger went straight to Hatate, who set up Daizen Maeda for a simple finish from close range to make it 1-0. Celtic doubled their lead almost instantly and this time it was Yang who was the provider, sending a good ball in to the box after linking up with Marcelo Saracchi. Arne Engels was brave as he directed a header towards the target before being clattered by Jamie McGrath, but neither the Hibs man’s efforts nor the goalkeeper’s touch on the ball could stop the goal, and Celtic had a 2-0 lead. Marcelo Saracchi, making his first appearance after recently recovering from injury, almost made it 3-0 just before half time after some excellent passing play from Celtic. The Uruguayan unleased an effort from inside the box after a clever back-heel from Maeda, but his shot cannoned off of the post and out of play for a goal kick. Martin O’Neill made one change at the break, bringing Anthony Ralston on in place of Colby Donovan who had picked up a booking during the first half. Hibs came close to dragging themselves back in to the game early in the second half when Jordan Obita whipped a dangerous cross in to the box, but Liam Scales was on hand to divert the ball behind for a corner kick. From the corner kick, however, the hosts won a penalty after Liam Scales was adjudged to have committed a handball offence in the box. Martin Boyle stepped up to take the spot kick for Hibs and he coolly slotted the ball in to the bottom corner to make the scoreline 2-1 and give the hosts a route back in to the game. Buoyed by their goal, Hibs looked like a re-energised side and the Celts were forced to focus on their defensive duties whilst the home side looked to apply pressure and find an equaliser. Martin O’Neill made a few changes as the half progressed, bringing Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren, Paulo Bernardo and Sebastian Tounekti on as Celtic defended resolutely at one end and tried to reestablish their two-goal lead at the other. With five minutes to go, Hibs pieced together a dangerous attack and Kasper Schmeichel was forced to produce a good save with his legs to deny Chris Cadden from inside the box. The victory over Hibs is the third consecutive away win for Martin O’Neill’s men following the international break, with a return to Paradise next on the cards when Dundee make the trip to the East End of Glasgow on Wednesday night.FixturesHibernian Vs. Celtic – Sun, Nov 30th 2025, 12:00
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