Copyright glasgowworld
Celtic’s sloppy start to the Scottish Premiership season went from bad to worse when they were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by surprise league leaders Hearts at Tynecastle. The Hoops went behind after just eight minutes when youngster Dan Murray inadvertently slashed the ball into his own net before Callum McGregor leveled proceedings with his first of the season. Hearts, who are chasing a first league title since 1960, took the initiative in the second half through Alexandros Kyziridis before sealing all three points after a strike from Lawrence Shankland. Celtic are now eight points behind the capital side in the title race after suffering successive defeats for the first time since 2023. It ultimately marked a decent weekend for Rangers, however, who jumped into the top four in Danny Rohl’s first game in charge by beating Kilmarnock 3-1 at home. Both sides face important mid-week games as Celtic host Falkirk and Rangers travel to Hibs. Both sides will keep a close eye on Hearts’ trip to St Mirren in the background. Ahead of a busy week of Premiership action, we assess this week’s main talking points so far. Former Rangers defender Kevin Muscat is facing a major challenge to get his current side’s championship hunt over the line. Australian Muscat, who was a serious contender for the Rangers head coach position, is currently the manager of Chinese side Shanghai Port, who are aiming to win the Super League title for a second season in a row. Shanghai have been out in front for most of the campaign but have just seen their hopes suffer a minor setback after a 3-1 loss away to Shandong Taishan. Muscat’s commitment to Shanghai proved to be part of the reasoning behind his decision to stay in Asia as he wouldn’t have been able to join Rangers until at the end of November at the very earliest. With just two games to go, Shanghai Port’s lead at the top is down to just one point after their recent defeat. On-loan Celtic left-back Adam Montgomery is facing up to ten weeks on the sidelines with a calf injury. The 23-year-old academy graduate is currently playing for newly-promoted Premiership side Livingston. Prior to his injury, he had made nine appearances across all competitions while scoring one goal in the League Cup against Kelty Hearts. It’s a situation which hands former Port Vale defender Cristian Montano a run in the team. "I'm getting my chance in undesirable circumstances ? the downfall of a player”, said Montana via Sun's Goals. "I like things to be fair and square, someone fit and competing, but that's the nature of football.Sometimes I've been injured and someone got a chance to keep the shirt. "Then it was time for me, once I got back, to keep working hard and waiting for my opportunity to play. This came at a time when unfortunately Adam picked up an injury and I just had to be ready. "I thought I'd done fairly well but it counts for nothing. On a personal note I'm happy to get through the game, and to have hopefully done enough to keep playing. But more importantly it's about picking up points. Hopefully I can start helping the team climb up the ladder." Read More: 'Thinking' on Ange Postecoglou Celtic return addressed as intel provided after brutal Nottingham Forest axe
