Scottish champions Celtic made a winning return to competitive action away to Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon, with Ange Postecoglou's side running out 1-0 winners in what was a hard-fought encounter at Pittodrie.

The Old Firm side had gone into the World Cup break with a sizeable lead at the summit, only to see that advantage reduced to six points as new Rangers boss Michael Beale saw his side twice come from behind against Hibernian on Thursday night to claim victory.

That fact had somewhat put the pressure on the Parkhead giants to avoid losing ground on their return to Scottish Premiership duty, although for a long while it looked as if the Hoops may well slip up, having struggled to truly make their mark against Jim Goodwin's side.

The Glasgow side did enjoy notable early chances to take the lead as the lively Jota saw his curling effort palmed away by Kelle Roos, while teammate Reo Hatate also saw his driven effort denied by the former Derby County 'keeper.

With Japanese colleague Kyogo Furuhashi also spurning a glorious chance to fire his side ahead after the interval after failing to make contact with the goal at his mercy, it looked like it may well be one of those days for the league leaders.

Almost inevitably, however, the ever-resilient outfit finally made the breakthrough just minutes from time through returning skipper, Callum McGregor, with the Scotland international lashing home from just outside the box to seal the points.

The 29-year-old showed no signs of rust on what was his first outing since sustaining a knee injury in the defeat away to RB Leipzig back in October, having pulled the strings so effortlessly in the centre of the park, racking up a staggering tally of six key passes from his 194 touches, while also enjoying a stunning 8.6 match rating, as per Sofascore.

The long-serving gem was not the only individual to have proven vital in that triumph for Postecoglou's men, however, with substitute Liel Abada having been "excellent" off the bench, in the words of journalist John McGinley.

The Israel international certainly injected some real vigour into the visitors' attack after entering the fray at the break, having registered three key passes from his 41 touches in that eye-catching second-half display, while also recording a solid 7.4 match rating for his efforts.

Although the 21-year-old did squander possession on nine occasions in that promising showing, that was merely a marker of his willingness to make things happen for his side, notably teeing up the aforementioned Kyogo for his missed chance early in the second half.

The £15k-per-week dynamo also combined nicely with Matt O'Riley down the right flank only to see his effort saved by the impressive Roos from the angle, with the youngster having triggered that attack with a surging, driving run from deep.

Lauded as a 'threat' by Glasgow Live's Alan Galindo, such an impactful performance should well see Abada included from the start next time around when the Bhoys take on St Johnstone on Wednesday evening.