Yang Hyun-jun completes Celtic comeback as perfect league start continues

Celtic extended their perfect Scottish Premiership start to five victories from five games after recovering from a goal down to beat St Mirren 2-1 in Paisley. Yang Hyun-jun completed the turnaround midway through the second half, inflicting St Mirren’s first league defeat of the season. The Guardian, citing a Press Association report, said the hosts pushed the champions throughout and registered 19 attempts.

Watch the highlights:

St Mirren went ahead midway through the first half through Nikolas Agrafiotis. The forward converted from the penalty spot after Celtic defender Liam Scales was penalized for handball. That advantage left St Mirren on course to move to the top of the Premiership, but Celtic responded after the interval.

Scales made amends six minutes into the second half, heading Celtic level. Yang then provided the decisive moment, finishing a counterattack after Camilo Durán’s pressing helped create the opening. The result preserved Celtic’s flawless league record despite a performance in which St Mirren played with pace and continued to create chances.

Yang’s winner also came immediately before a spell away from his club. Celtic manager Martin O’Neill said the 24-year-old will travel to Japan for the Asian Games. The report said Yang is set to miss the midweek visit to St Johnstone, two matches against Rangers and Celtic’s Europa League opener against Ferencvaros. O’Neill praised the winger’s current form and his willingness to contribute defensively.

Elsewhere, Rangers earned a third consecutive Premiership win by beating Motherwell 1-0 at Ibrox. Substitute Ryan Naderi scored in the 12th minute after dispossessing goalkeeper Alex Paulsen outside the penalty area. Naderi had replaced captain Lawrence Shankland in the eighth minute after the striker suffered a hamstring injury. Manager Derek McInnes said Shankland would undergo a scan on Monday and noted that the player felt the issue was similar to a previous hamstring injury.

Motherwell had more possession and created opportunities, while Rangers missed chances to extend the lead, including a first-half penalty from Kim Min-su. Dundee United secured a 1-1 draw with Falkirk through Michael Forbes’s added-time equalizer after Jacob Murrell had scored in the fourth minute. Kilmarnock collected their first point in a 0-0 draw at Aberdeen despite Aaron Tshibola receiving a second yellow card in the 83rd minute.