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The dominant Edinburgh side powered eight ahead of their Glasgow rivals at the summit of the Scottish top flight to bolster their early championship claims and worsen the malaise around Brendan Rodgers' side.

Alexandros Kyziridis' fine strike and a spot-kick from Shankland gave the Hearts team a 3-1 lead that the reigning champions could not recover from.

The young defender - among three youth players in the Celtic starting lineup - scored an own goal early on to put Hearts ahead at a bouncing their home ground, and it was the 22-year-old's foul that led to the penalty.

A stylish finish from McGregor of the season had quickly cancelled out Hearts' opener, and Benjamin Nygren almost put Celtic in front, choosing placement over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to make a crucial stop.

But Derek McInnes' irrepressible Hearts regained dominance to consign the visitors to successive league defeats for the first time since last year.

It also gives the Edinburgh side a commanding advantage at the summit.

The previous occasion they were this far ahead was in 2005-06 under George Burley, when they ultimately finished second - one of just four occasions that a team has failed to win the title after building such an advantage in the past 27 years.

The Hearts coach, whose former team were second to Celtic on multiple times, has been at pains to play down title talk, as Hearts seek their first top-flight crown since 1960.

Rodgers has seen it all before at the club - both flawless and stuttering starts to a season. He's yet to finish second best.

But on the weekend's performance, this Hearts team showed they deserve serious consideration.

Analysis: The hosts Take Advantage of Weakened The Visitors

The Edinburgh side started with the confidence of a side undefeated in the league this season - the popular attacker poked a cross in for Shankland to stab wide.

Celtic didn't help themselves with some uncharacteristic carelessness in possession and they faltered under their first real examination.

Claudio Braga's header was touched on to a post by Kasper Schmeichel and the follow-up from Shankland was turned into the net by the unfortunate Murray, in for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Celtic found their rhythm and started building moves. From one such move, the midfielder released Tierney to square for McGregor, who slotted home.

Aside from the Nygren chance, Celtic found it hard to generate chances for lone frontman Jonny Kenny or his substitute Yamada amid the unavailability of stricken attackers Kelechi Iheanacho and Daizen Maeda.

Hearts regained their intensity and versatility in attacking from across the final third. Kyziridis, a standout performer of the club's relationship with shareholder Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics, struck low past the goalkeeper from the just outside the area.

Immediately after, Murray fouled Braga in the right side of the box and the penalty taker converted. And it could've been an even more handsome win, had replacement Ageu not been denied by the shot-stopper.

The visitors' performance after the break was somewhat summed up in two incidents involving big-money recruit Engles.

The set-piece from Engles delivery was in stark contrast to his midweek exploits in the continental victory over their Austrian opponents and the national team player was then yellow-carded for a cynical foul.

What They Said

The Hearts manager: "You see how hard the players work, the team spirit. That's not always enough to win games week in, week out.

"Our strength lies in, is good technical ability. You're seeing that from multiple individuals who have been here previously. Recent additions are keen to demonstrate their quality.

"We're in a positive moment at the minute, but it's just one win. It's crucial for us to maintain this form. We've got loads to do, plenty to improve. After the first two rounds is normally an indication of where you are."

The Celtic boss: "It's a really poor goal from our perspective. We didn't move when the play was recycled as a defensive unit so when they pass the ball, they ought to be caught offside but weren't. We have got to do better with the attempt.

"There's still so many points to play for. It's only the beginning. It's just nine matches. Clearly, being eight points behind is not ideal. The positive is there's so many games to play.

"We now have to focus on the here and now and look to achieve greater stability and more quality in our play."

Upcoming Fixtures for These Teams?

The Glasgow club are back at home on Wednesday against newly-promoted Falkirk (evening kick-off). At the same time in the top division, Hearts are at their opponents' ground.

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