The Full Scottish
And here we are. What has been a chaotic, thrilling and often mystifying Scottish Premiership season will finally reach its—inevitable?—conclusion Saturday with league leaders Hearts taking on reigning champions Celtic, at Celtic Park, in a winner-take-all affair.
Okay, Hearts can actually finish the day as 2025-26 champions with a draw, but you catch our drift. How did we get here? How much time do you have?
Served by Brian P. Dunleavy
Most recently, we had the madness of the midweek, which saw Hearts dominate upstarts Falkirk at Tynecastle, 3-0, only to see Celtic awarded a controversial late penalty at Motherwell.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted said penalty for the Hoops, giving them a 3-2 win with the final kick of the ball and the chance to complete a shocking comeback in the title race with a win, at home, on Saturday.
“Sometimes you need things to drop for you if you’re going to win titles,” Bhoys skipper Callum McGregor told the media, perhaps sheepishly, in the aftermath of the match.
Did Motherwell’s midfielder Sam Nicholson—ironically a former Hearts player—handle the ball in the box as injury time expired? Seems so. Did he also elbow Celtic defender Auston Trusty in the face? Possibly.
Should VAR have intervened for a “clear and obvious error” when match referee John Beaton and/or his sideline officials failed to spot either infraction? Up for debate.
Stage is set for Saturday showdown
But that’s what happened and, really, how else should this crazy campaign come to an end?
Hearts have been deserved leaders since September. They are on the verge of disrupting the Celtic-Rangers duopoly at the top of the top-flight table for the first time 40-plus years.
Celtic, meanwhile, have survived what has been a tumultuous season on the pitch and off for the club, and still have a chance to secure what bettors (not that we are among them) a mere two months ago would have called an unlikely domestic double.
What will happen on Saturday at Celtic Park? Based on how this season has gone so far, we’d guess: almost anything.