Celtic took advantage in the title race again on Sunday afternoon as the Hoops managed to put their poor recent record at Almondvale to bed.

The Hoops are now three points clear of their fierce rivals in the race to win the Premiership and it came about courtesy of a 3-1 win over Livingston.

The scoreline reflects that of a comfortable victory for Ange Postecoglou's side but it could have gone very differently if they hadn't responded to an early penalty miss.

They were perhaps fortunate to have been awarded one for an apparent handball and Livi may well have felt justice was served when Callum McGregor struck the post and the ball bounced to safety.

It was a poor penalty and not even Sky Sports' excuse that his mask may have got in the way was viable here.

Indeed, it may be somewhat offputting for the Celtic skipper but beyond the penalty miss, he also let his teammates and manager down in other areas too, missing a glorious chance with a header minutes after his missed spot-kick as well.

Usually so comfortable and calm in possession of the ball, it was a rare off day in that department for McGregor.

According to SofaScore, he did complete 90% of his passes but at points, he could be found guilty of trying too much.

After all, he gave away the ball on nine occasions, meaning he ceded possession once every five touches. Furthermore, he gave away two fouls and failed with every single one of his dribble and cross attempts during the course of the match.

What made matters worse is that next to Nir Bitton, his physical presence was very limited.

The bullish Scot won just four of his 11 duels - a win percentage of 36% - and as a result, he was hauled off with seven minutes remaining.

Considering he has the captaincy duties, it feels unlikely that Postecoglou will ever consider axing him from the starting XI.

However, with plenty of options in that area of the pitch now - both Reo Hatate and Matt O'Riley were on the bench - he will have to be wary of those behind him in the pecking order.

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