Celtic return to top of Premiership with win over Motherwell at Fir Park

Celtic have returned to the top of the Premiership with a victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.

The champions beat Stuart Kettlewell’s side 3-0 in North Lanarkshire to go back ahead of Aberdeen on goal-difference after nine games of the league season.

Hoops skipper Callum McGregor missed the game with Adam Idah, Arne Engels and Nicholas Kuhn also dropping to the bench following the midweek draw with Atalanta.

Luke McCowan was handed his first start alongside Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate in midfield with James Forrest handed a starting role beside Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda up top.

McCowan opened the scoring with a first-half strike before captain for the day Alistair Johnston doubled the lead early in the second and Idah also got on the scoresheet after coming off the bench to make sure all three points would be going back to Glasgow.

Lennon Miller twice came close to giving the home side a lead in the opening stages when he cannoned a shot off the post with Kasper Schmeichel in no man’s land after a wayward back-pass from Paulo Bernardo.

The teenage midfielder then hit the woodwork again from a free-kick just moments later as Motherwell started strongly.

Daizen Maeda had Celtic’s first big chance with a backwards header that forced a save from goalkeeper Aston Oxborough.

The champions took the lead midway through the first-half when McCowan fired home in his first league start for the club to make it 1-0.

That strike from the former Dundee midfielder separated the sides going into the half-time break.

Kyogo came close to doubling the lead early in the second-half after a jinking run but his effort was well saved before Maeda hit the woodwork from the rebound.

It was 2-0 soon after however when Johnston, who was wearing the captain’s armband in Callum McGregor’s absence, headed home a cross from Alex Valle.

Idah came off the bench to cement all three points when he turned home a close range finish to make it 3-0 with two minutes to go.

Fellow sub Nicolas Kuhn cut it back across the face of the goal after a good run up the right hand side and the Ireland tapped it past Oxborough to seal the victory.

Motherwell were reduced to ten-men when Liam Gordon was sent off for a late tackle on Idah in injury-time.