Celtic reclaim Scottish Premiership top spot with dominant win over Motherwell

Glasgow — Celtic arrested a three-match losing streak in style on Sunday, overcoming Motherwell at Fir Park to reclaim first place in the Scottish Premiership table.

The champions seized control early when Colombian forward Camilo Duran opened the scoring on nine minutes with a precise low drive—his eighth goal of the season. Despite dominating possession and carving out a flurry of chances, Celtic had to wait until after the interval to seal the points, when Benjamin Nygren scrambled home a second following a neat setup by Kasper Høgh.

Motherwell struggled to create meaningful threats throughout the match, with their best opportunity falling to striker Seb Palmer-Houlden, whose header drifted wide. Only a string of 12 superb saves by home goalkeeper Alex Paulsen kept the scoreline respectable as the visitors piled on 19 shots inside the box.

The victory marks manager Martin O’Neill’s 250th win in his historic Celtic managerial career and provides a crucial psychological boost following recent defeats against Rangers and Ferencvaros, placing the Hoops two points clear of their Old Firm rivals at the top. Meanwhile, Alfred Johansson’s Motherwell side suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, leaving them mired in ninth place, just three points above bottom club Kilmarnock.

A major highlight for the travelling supporters came with 15 minutes remaining as winger Jota made his long-awaited return from injury, stepping off the bench for his first appearance in nearly 18 months.