Virgil van Dijk's last-minute goal has earned 10-man Celtic a surprise 2-1 win over Aberdeen at the Pittodrie Stadium in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon.
The visitors were the first to threaten when Anthony Stokes found himself with space in the box, but he was only able to drag his effort wide of the post from close range.
Aberdeen struggled for clear-cut chances in the opening period, as Niall McGinn sought to test Celtic from range, only to see his attempt blocked on its way to goal.
The hosts did however make use of their only enterprising opportunity when the ball fell to Adam Rooney inside the box, leaving the forward to stroke the ball home into the bottom right-hand corner.
Virgil van Dijk should have equalised for the travelling side minutes later, only for the defender to head straight at Lukasz Zaluska from just a few yards out.
It looked as though Aberdeen would take a lead into the interval, but Stefan Johansen had other ideas as he moved smartly to find a pass from Stokes and convert past Scott Brown to leave things level at the break.
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown looked to seize the initiative straight after the break as he let loose with a stinging effort from distance, only to see the Aberdeen keeper get down low to prevent a goal at his right post.
Aberdeen then thought they'd wrestled back control of the fixture, only to see Niall McGinn's standout effort rattle back off the post after the playmaker looked to try his luck from outside the box.
As the game headed into the final 20 minutes it appeared as though the hosts were the more likely to take three points, as both Ryan Jack and Peter Pawlett did well to meet the ball with their heads but head wide of the mark.
Celtic's chances of grabbing a winner looked to have taken a major blow with eight minutes to go after Brown was dismissed for a late challenge, which saw the midfielder earn a second yellow card.
Despite the sending-off, Celtic snatched a winner when Van Dijk broke free inside the box to convert Johansen's cross in the 90th minute and earn his side a surprise three points on the road.
Christopher Dodd
