The Hoops overcame a first half defeat to run out eventual 5 – 2 winners in a tense clash at the McDiarmid Park on Sunday to see their win streak in the Scottish Premiership extend to 19 games.
Celtic as usual took control of proceedings from the first whistle and were soon in front in the 6th minute as Liam Henderson slammed in a great effort that Clark couldn’t keep out after he had earlier smartly denied efforts on goal from Roberts and Mackay-Steven.
Saints, however, came back in style from a great set piece, with Watson outjumping everyone to head in Swanson’s corner beyond Gordon after half an hour of play.
Celtic surprisingly looked bereft of ideas with Johnstone’s counters causing them all sorts of problem, and they were soon behind with Swanson at the centre of it all again.
As the saints broke out on another counter attack, his cross in from the left was met by Wotherspoon’s head in Celtic’s 18-yard box, it (un)fortunately bounced off Boyata into the goal.
2 – 1! Half Time.
The hosts were the last side to defeat Celtic in the league way back at the end of last season and they appeared capable of breaking the visitors incredible run that had seen them go 28 games without a defeat.
The Bhoys, however, came all out when play restarted and were helped on the hour mark by a mistake from the ref, after the official adjudged Watson to have handled the ball in his box following Tierney’s cross.
Dembele calmly converted the controversial spot-kick and Celtic didn’t stop scoring from that moment. 2 goals either side of a Sinclair strike from the French youngster followed, securing an emphatic victory after the initial scare.
The Bhoys are rated thus in a match that saw them produce their best 2nd half performance so far this season.
Gordon
Made just a single save and was making errors after errors afterwards, with one of his poor clearances almost gifting the hosts a glittering opportunity.
Rating: 6/10
Lustig
Set up 2 goals but often had nervous moments at the back against a menacing St Johnstone forward line.
Rating: 6/10
Tierney
Kept quiet largely in the first half as Foster was able to contain his attacking threats.
He did win the controversial penalty that set the tone for Celtic’s comeback, though.
Rating: 6/10
Sviatchenko
Returned into the starting XI but didn’t have much to do in centre defence.
Rating: 5/10
Boyata
Lost few aerial duels and turned in one into his own net.
Rating: 5/10
Brown
Not a stray pass or late intervention from the skipper who marshalled and kept total control of the midfield.
Rating: 7/10
Biton
Needed to do much better in the buildup to the Saints’ equalizer, but he did put in a decent performance overall.
Rating: 6/10
Mackay-Steven
The midfielder got a rare chance to start but didn’t make most of it as he squandered chance after chance that should have seen off the hosts earlier if converted.
Rating: 5/10
Henderson
The 20-year-old was given a nod to feature and he grabbed the chance with both hands, scoring a fine goal, positioning himself well and picking right passes.
Rating: 8/10
Roberts
Created Sinclair’s goal to cap an impressive performance in an unfamiliar position upfront but was unlucky not to have gotten a goal.
Rating: 7/10
Sinclair
Caused the hosts’ defence all sorts of trouble and continued to prove his quality that stands him out in the park.
Rating: 8/10
SUBSTITUTES
Dembele
Bagged a hat-trick in 30 minutes to bring his tally to 23 across all competitions this term, securing a vital comeback win for Celtic.
Rating: 9/10
McGregor
Replaced Henderson with 20 minutes to go and helped keep it solid for the remainder of the game.
Rating: 5/10
Çiftçi
Probably didn’t touch the ball more than once.
Rating: Not Available