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The dominant Edinburgh side powered eight points clear of their Glasgow rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership to bolster their early title credentials and worsen the malaise around Brendan Rodgers' side.

A superb goal from Kyziridis and Lawrence Shankland's penalty gave Derek McInnes' side a 3-1 lead that the title holders could not recover from.

The young defender - one of three youngsters in the Celtic starting lineup - scored an own goal early on to put Hearts ahead at a bouncing Tynecastle, and it was the 22-year-old's foul that led to the penalty.

Callum McGregor's classy first goal of the season had swiftly equalized the first goal, and the Swedish attacker almost put Rodgers' team in front, choosing placement over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to make a crucial stop.

But the unstoppable Hearts side regained dominance to hand the visitors to successive league defeats for the first time since 2023.

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 - a rare instance that a team has failed to win the title after building such an advantage in the last three decades.

The Hearts coach, whose former team were runners-up to the champions on multiple times, has been at pains to downplay championship discussions, as Hearts seek their first top-flight crown since the 1960s.

The Celtic boss has seen it all before at the club - both perfect and shaky beginnings to a season. He's yet to finish second best.

But on the weekend's performance, this Edinburgh outfit showed they deserve serious consideration.

Match Analysis: Hearts Take Advantage of Depleted Celtic

The Edinburgh side started with the self-assurance of a side undefeated in the league this season - fans' favourite Kyziridis poked a cross in for Shankland to fire off target.

The Glasgow team didn't aid their cause with some unusual sloppiness in possession and they buckled under their initial test.

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 absent center-back.

Celtic grew into the contest and started stringing passes together. From one such move, Sebastian Tounekti released the full-back to square for the captain, who slotted home.

Aside from the opportunity for Nygren, Celtic found it hard to generate chances for lone frontman Jonny Kenny or his replacement Shin Yamada amid the unavailability of injured forwards their key strikers.

Hearts regained their intensity and versatility in creating chances in the opposition half. Kyziridis, a standout performer of the club's scouting network, fired a low shot past the goalkeeper from the just outside the area.

Almost straight away, Murray tripped Braga in the inside right channel and the penalty taker converted. And it could've been an even more handsome win, had substitute Ageu not been stopped by the shot-stopper.

Celtic's second half was partially encapsulated in two incidents involving big-money recruit Engles.

The set-piece from Engles delivery was in stark contrast to his European display in the Europa League win over their Austrian opponents and the Belgium international was then booked for a professional foul.

What They Said

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: "You see how hard the players work, the togetherness. That's not always enough to win games week in, week out.

"Our strength lies in, is skillful players. You're witnessing it from multiple individuals who have been here before. Some of the new signings are keen to demonstrate their quality.

"We're in a positive moment at the minute, but it's only three points. It's crucial for us to keep winning. We've got much work ahead, plenty to improve. After the first two rounds is typically a benchmark of your standing."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "It's a really poor goal from our perspective. We failed to push up when the ball went back as a defensive unit so when they play it, they should have players offside but weren't. We have got to improve with the attempt.

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

"We now have to focus on the present and look to find more consistency and better performance in our play."

What's Next for Both Sides?

The Glasgow club are back at home on midweek against promoted side Falkirk (19:45 GMT). At the identical hour in the Scottish Premiership, the Edinburgh outfit are at their opponents' ground.

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