Celtic are currently 7 points clear at the summit of the cinch Premiership, holding an incredibly convincing lead at the top of the table in late October, and many may not have expected such a near-flawless start to the season after the release of the fixture list before a ball was kicked.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have had to contend with plenty of tricky away trips at the start of the season, with trips to Ibrox, Tynecastle and Pittodrie all coming in the early months.
Here is how Celtic negotiated their way through a tough run of away fixtures, boasting five wins from five:
Aberdeen
Celtic travelled to Pittodrie on matchday 2, and with supporters unconvinced by the 4-2 win over Ross County on the opening day, Brendan’s team needed a good performance.
Liel Abada put Celtic in front early on, before Bojan Miovski equalised for the Dons. Kyogo immediately put the visitors back ahead, but with the game still looking close in the later stages, it was Matt O’Riley who provided the finishing touch to secure all 3 points.
Rangers
After exiting the Viaplay Cup at the first time of asking against Kilmarnock and following that up with a disappointing home draw against St Johnstone, some fans were fearing the worst when the team travelled to Ibrox to take on Rangers.
A spate of injuries saw a depleted Celtic team take to the field, but a gutsy and spirited display from a well-organised unit was enough to come out with a victory, Kyogo grabbing the winning goal just before half-time.
Livingston
Celtic took an early lead at the Tony Macaroni Arena with Reo Hatate converting from the spot, but a red card for Joe Hart meant that it could have been an incredibly nervy second-half.
Instead of looking disadvantaged by being a man down, the away side controlled and dictated the play for the entirety of the second period, O’Riley and Maeda both scoring to round off a comprehensive display.
Motherwell
The trip to Fir Park was definitely a nervy one, but once again Brendan’s charges got the job done.
Celtic didn’t look like offering much of a threat for almost 90 minutes before Luis Palma produced a moment of magic to net his first goal for the Hoops.
It looked like points were going to be dropped, however, when Blair Spittal equalised for Motherwell in the 95th minute, but once again Celtic’s mentality shone through and it was Matt O’Riley who grabbed the 98th-minute winner, resulting in pandamonium at Fir Park.
Hearts
The most recent trip to Hearts could have proved to be a potential banana skin, but Celtic set the tempo early on with a quick goal. O’Riley scored another perfect goal after three minutes, then Maeda put the team further ahead inside 25 minutes.
Second-half goals from Kyogo and Iwata, who notched his first goal in the hoops, were enough to cancel out Lawrence Shankland’s consolation and ensure that Celtic maintained their 7-point gap at the top of the table.
A trip to Easter Road to take on Hibs is still to come this weekend, but the fact that Celtic have come out with 3 points from all of these tough grounds should definitely inspire the team on to victory in the second trip to Edinburgh in two weeks.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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