HEART Attack FC, that is Celtic Football Club's newest nickname, after a week which saw the Hoops knock years off their faithful fans' lives with two last-gasp league victories completely flipping the script in the title race.
New Bhoys Julián Araujo and, of course, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, announced their arrivals in Celtic jerseys in spectacular fashion when the pair both struck vital injury time goals to earn crucial points and maintain Celtic's pursuit of the title.
Wednesday evening was a slog, make no mistake about it. Celtic played the first half looking like a group of players who had just met at the Jock Stein statue and agreed to buy eleven jerseys in the club shop moments before kick-off.
Stats may have deceived and Celtic could have been a few goals to the good but it was a tough watch until Marcelo Sarrachi's effort caught the Livingston shot-stopper off guard and the Uruguayan wheeled away to celebrate his first goal in green and white.
Despite 17 efforts on goal in the first half something felt off about the performance from Martin O'Neill's men, and as the second half recommenced it was a similar story with players being a fraction behind the pass or a ball being overhit. The lack of synergy was beginning to stink Parkhead out.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Arne Engels pulled up in the first half to groans from the Celtic bench to be replaced by Reo Hatate, with the Belgian star looking to be ruled out for a number of weeks. Hatate promptlhy swiped at an attempt to clear the ball, oblivious to the incoming player and a spot kick was rightly awarded.
Robbie Muirhead dispatched to level things as Kasper Schmeichel kept his consistency by making a weak attempt at saving a penalty once more.
Celtic is truly a special club for any player. Particularly players who have had a struggling career in recent times and want somewhere to be loved, heralded and be welcomed as a hero.
As the substitute board was raised and Oxlade-Chamberlain's number 21 entered the fray – after not appearing since June 2025 on a football pitch – he had the chance to etch his name into Celtic folklore.
92 minutes were on the clock when a terrific curler into the bottom corner from the Ox gave Celtic a wondrous late victory over Livingston on a night when on-loan Celt Stephen Welsh intervened significantly in the title race, pouncing in the 89th minute to earn Motherwell a draw against Rangers.
On to Sunday and a game at Rugby Park against a side who, despite sitting 11th in the table, had recently enjoyed an unbeaten spell at home under the super-staunch management duo of Billy Dodds and Neil McCann.
By the half-time whistle Celtic's title hopes were in the bin, 2-0 down and realistically the chance of a comeback looked nil. For reference, the last time Celtic came from two down to win in the league was at Fir Park back in 2016/17 when they managed to come from 2-0 down to win 4-3.
The sounds of whispered prayers could be heard across Glasgow and Edinburgh as Rangers and Hearts eagerly waited for Kilmarnock to use their two-goal cushion to ease them to victory on that ugly plastic surface.
A magical Martin O'Neill flick of the wand saw Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sebastian Tounekti and Tomas Cvancara enter the fray – and change the game.
Tounekti replicated his finish from the cup game weeks prior at the same venue, cutting inside from the left and flashing an effort into the top corner of Keller Roos' net. Shortly after the equaliser was found when, to no great surprise, that man Benjamin Nygren was on hand with a tidy close-range finish to punish some comical Kilmarnock defending.
The game reached something of a statelmate after that, but the Hoops rallied and found an extra gear once more. In the sixth of seven added minutes, Cvancara squared a dangerous ball which evaded defenders and strikers alike, falling at the back stick to the inrushing Araujo who made no mistake and rammed the winner high into the net. The Mexican's strike electrified the away end and his ecstatic celebrations in the middle of the crowd will be remembered for a long time to come.
On to less happy matters and Celtic have a problem. That problem is a Rio Hatate-shaped one. Last month he scored a crucial goal in the draw at Bologna, before being foolishly sent off ten minutes later for a reckless second yellow – costing Celtic two Europa points in the process.
Wednesday saw him give away a penalty in the most amateurish fashion, swinging a leg lazily in the box with no concept of what was around him. Time and time again he has been bailed out by teammates following sub-par, lazy performances in green and white.
The man who on his day looked to be the best player in the Scottish league and seemed certain to bag a big-money move to a bigger league now seems lost and disinterested and a move is increasingly looking to be best all round for both player and club.
A heroic player on his day, he has been effective at times this season. But in a title run-in during which character, strength and determination are at a premium in the engine room, he looks badly short of what's required..
I sincerely hope he can rediscover his form. However, it seems unlikely. Starting Hatate at Kilmarnock can be seen now as the big mistake that it was. While the Celtic fans still admire Hatate and respect the class that he's brought to the Scottish game, the vast majority know that he's no longer the man to call on when the going gets tough.
And that tough going is about to get a lot tougher.
