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Celtic are CHAMPIONS as Giorgos Giakoumakis goal seals crucial point against Dundee United

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CELTIC are once again champions of Scotland.

A 1-1 draw against Dundee United meant Ange Postecoglou’s men have secured the Premiership title with a game to spare.

Giorgos Giakoumakis celebrates after scoring the title-clinching goalCredit: Getty

The Hoops only required a point on the night to seal the league championship, having overturned a six-point deficit to Rangers since the winter break.

Giorgos Giakoumakis got the title party in full flow with his opener eight minutes into the second half.

One of Postecoglou’s summer signings, the Greek striker can be described as a late bloomer and his latest poacher’s effort was his tenth league goal in 17 appearances.

Manchester United loanee Dylan Levitt levelled things for the hosts 20 minutes later with an absolute worldie but the celebrations didn’t stop for the travelling support.

Daizen Maeda had a chance to win the match itself late on but flashed wide.

Postecoglou’s side are still unbeaten in the league, their last defeat being a 1-0 defeat to Livingston in September.

That game was Celtic’s sixth in the Premiership under Postecoglou and it didn’t get much better the following week with a draw at home to Dundee United.

That left the Hoops with just seven points from their opening seven games – including an opening day defeat to Hearts – and few gave them and new boss Postecoglou a hope of turning things around.

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But far from just turning things around, Postecoglou has genuinely galvanised everyone at Parkhead and Lennoxtown.

After taking over from Neil Lennon in the summer, the Aussie had to rejuvenate and rebuild a squad that was haemorrhaging key players.

Long-time captain Scott Brown was off to Aberdeen before he even arrived while talented trio Kris Ajer, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard all left in the summer transfer window.

Postecoglou had to find new blood and fast.

Unfortunately there was too much upheaval for Celtic to make it into the Champions League as they crashed out to Midtjylland.

The Champions League failure and the dodgy start to the league campaign had plenty of people wondering how long Postecoglou would last.

But then the likes of Jota, Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi began to come good.

Joe Hart proved a colossus between the sticks, the dominant type of goalkeeper the Hoops dearly missed a season earlier.

Callum McGregor stepped up to the role of captain with aplomb. Anthony Ralston stepped up out of nowhere to become a revelation at right-back.

And Tom Rogic was given a new lease life by his compatriot.

The new-look Celts squad began to find its feet and by Christmas they weren’t far behind Rangers.

The Old Firm derby in February proved a massive turning point, with Gers still dealing with their own managerial change as Giovanni van Bronckhorst replaced Steven Gerrard.

As the season went on, Celts crashed out of Europe while Rangers kept fighting (all the way to the Europa League final) and it meant the Hoops were able to put their foot on the gas and overhaul their city rivals.

A 2-1 win at Ibrox put the title basically beyond the reach of the Light Blues men but it wasn’t until tonight’s win at Tannadice, ironically where the Hoops officially LOST the league last season) that the title was officially sealed.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk

Tagcloud: FootballScottish Premiership

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