The league title race is done, and what a title race it was! This might have been the best in decades but ultimately, the result was a familiar one. Celtic lifted the Premiership trophy aloft for the fifth time in a row and the 56th time in club history.

Hearts, who came so close to becoming the first non-Glasgow side to win the Scottish league for the first time in more than four decades, fell short at the final hurdle.

For the majority of the game, Hearts had done what they needed to do, which is come home with at least a draw. When they went ahead right before the break, many Celtic fans might have given up.

But then, Celtic were handed a penalty right before the break and Arne Engels converted, barely, as the ball slipped underneath the Hearts goalie.

Then there was a frustrating second half as Celtic tried to find the second. They came close multiple times, Kelechi Iheanacho even striking the post, but could not find a way through.

It was Daizen Maeda who eventually did. And after the run that the Japanese forward has had over the last few weeks, that was appropriate. He might have gone from club hero to bona fide legend as a result of it.

By the time Callum Osmand rolled the ball into the back of an empty Hearts net, celebrations had started and there were many fans who got onto the pitch.

Amid this, a controversy erupted. There were about 30 seconds left on the clock when Osmand scored. Many fans, mostly Rangers ones, claimed that the game had not officially ended and that it had been abandoned. So, they wanted the result to be reversed and Hearts to be handed the title.

It was a last resort for supporters who had seen their team collapse in the post-split fixtures. And now, it has been officially confirmed that there are no legs to that theory.

The SPFL have written in an official statement: "We would also like to thank the referee and his excellent team of match officials for their cool heads on such a dramatic day. Given the speculation about the conclusion of the game, we would like to make clear that, prior to awarding the trophy, we were informed by the match referee that the match had ended and had not been abandoned."

So, there it is. Celtic are the champions of Scotland. Again. They played some of their worst football since the 20/21 campaign and still found a way to win silverware.

Their season is not over though. They will take on Neil Lennon's Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final in what is most likely going to be Martin O'Neill's final game as a manager. That is very appropriate and the players should look to bid him farewell with one final trophy.

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