Joe Hart and Matt O’Riley left in awe of Celtic support on Instagram

Celtic showed their mettle in the title race by comfortably seeing off Heart of Midlothian to move six points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Kyogo Furuhashi got the home side off the mark in the fourth minute, keeping himself onside to nod a clinical header past Zander Clark despite a VAR check.

Brendan Rodgers’ men continued to probe, and grabbed their second in spectacular fashion as Matt O’Riley’s pinpoint curling pass enabled Furuhashi to ghost between two central defenders, leaving the Japan international to finish with aplomb on the volley.

In the second half, Celtic maintained their intensity on and off the ball to ward off any chance of Steven Naismith’s side mounting a fightback, with every tackle and positive passage of play met with a rousing reception from the Parkhead support.

Three minutes before time, O’Riley rifled home from the spot after Lawrence Shankland was penalised for a handball by Kevin Clancy, bringing the curtain down on a potentially defining day in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Post-match, Rodgers thanked the Celtic fans for generating a ‘brilliant’ atmosphere to help see off Hearts with flying colours.

He stated: “It was very pleasing. There was a great energy in the stadium today and the supporters were brilliant for us. Right from the off, they got behind the team, and the players responded to that.”

Joe Hart’s Instagram post after Celtic defeat Hearts

Passion emanated from the stands yesterday as Celtic took one step closer to achieving their aspirations of a third successive league title win, and we could potentially have a chance to wrap up this feat at home to Rangers next weekend, depending on their result against Kilmarnock.

Taking to Instagram after the match, Joe Hart was in awe of the Celtic support against Hearts, making his appreciation known on the social media platform following his heartening contribution at Parkhead.

Veteran goalkeeper Hart stated on Instagram, ‘Awesome … big win . What a atmosphere @celticfc (accompanied by a green heart emoji).’

The 37-year-old also shared a selection of pictures from the clash after making some crucial saves against Hearts, defying Cammy Devlin and Yutaro Oda in breathtaking fashion.

Matt O’Riley’s Instagram post following terrific display

Leading the charge in the engine room, O’Riley also moved to pay tribute to the Celtic support, adding his own message, which read: ‘Paradise was bouncing today (heart eyes emoji and four-leaf clover emoji ) Fun time with you all’ (green heart emoji).

Per Fotmob, the Denmark international took on four shots, created four chances, threaded six passes into the final third, and won four duels on the day, putting some shine on a magnificent performance from a personal standpoint.

Speculation continues to dominate the headlines regarding O’Riley’s future; however, his attitude has been exemplary, and he has now taken his tally to 15 goals and 17 assists in 45 appearances across all comPetitions [Transfermarkt].