Celtic have moved three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after registering a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle.
After hitting four past Hearts in the Scottish Cup on Sunday, Celtic were keen to establish the early initiative at Celtic Park and it didn't take long before Stefan Johansen and John Guidetti were knocking on the door.
Aleksandar Tonev and Virgil van Dijk also threatened with decent strikes but both were denied by solid interventions from Paul Gallacher.
Partick were having their moments up the opposite end but the majority of the play was in their own half, and Van Dijk should have handed Celtic the lead shortly after the half-hour mark but he could only volley into the ground.
Ronny Deila's outfit created a clearer opportunity before the break through Anthony Stokes, but after being played in by Guidetti, he aimed his shot just wide of the upright.
Soon after the restart, Celtic threatened again when Tonev fired into the side-netting but the home side finally took the lead on 59 minutes.
Johansen whipped in a free kick towards the six-yard box and Van Dijk was perfectly placed to convert from close range for his sixth of the campaign.
Despite falling behind, Partick looked dangerous on the break but with quarter-of-an-hour remaining, Celtic came close to number two when Kris Commons forced another save out of Gallacher.
After being second best for 85 minutes, Partick almost stunned Celtic Park with an equaliser through Kris Doolan but his hooked shot was tipped away by Craig Gordon.
That would prove to be Partick's last opening of the night and Celtic were able to comfortably hang on to their narrow lead to record their eighth successive domestic win.
Darren Plant
