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The dominant Edinburgh side surged eight ahead of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership to strengthen their early-season championship claims and worsen the struggles around the Celtic team.

Alexandros Kyziridis' fine strike and Lawrence Shankland's penalty gave Derek McInnes' side a two-goal advantage that the title holders could not recover from.

The young defender - among three youth players in the Celtic XI - slashed into his own net in the early stages to put the home side ahead at a energetic their home ground, and it was the 22-year-old's foul that led to the spot-kick.

Callum McGregor's classy first goal of the season had swiftly equalized Hearts' opener, and the Swedish attacker almost put Rodgers' team in front, opting for finesse over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to save from close range.

But the unstoppable Hearts side seized control again to consign Celtic to back-to-back losses for the initial occasion since last year.

It also gives the Hearts a commanding advantage at the top of the table.

The last time they were this far ahead was in the 2005-2006 season under their former manager, when they ended as runners-up - a rare instance that a team has failed to win the title having held such a lead in the past 27 years.

The Hearts coach, whose Aberdeen side were second to Celtic on multiple times, has been at pains to play down title talk, as the club seek their maiden league title since the 1960s.

The Celtic boss has seen it all before at the club - both flawless and stuttering starts to a season. He's never ended as runner-up.

But on Sunday's evidence, this Edinburgh outfit showed they need to be taken seriously.

Match Analysis: Hearts Take Advantage of Depleted Celtic

Hearts started with the confidence of a side unbeaten in the league this season - the popular attacker poked a cross in for Shankland to fire off target.

Celtic didn't help themselves with some unusual sloppiness in possession and they faltered under their initial test.

A headed effort from Braga was tipped onto the woodwork by the Celtic keeper and the follow-up from Shankland was diverted goalwards by the unfortunate Murray, in for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The away side found their rhythm and started stringing passes together. From a flowing attack, Sebastian Tounekti released the full-back to set up the captain, who slotted home.

Apart from the Nygren chance, Celtic struggled to create much for striker Kenny or his substitute Yamada amid the unavailability of injured forwards Kelechi Iheanacho and Daizen Maeda.

The home team regained their intensity and adaptability in creating chances in the opposition half. Kyziridis, one of the finds of the club's scouting network, fired a low shot past the goalkeeper from the just outside the area.

Almost straight away, Murray tripped Braga in the right side of the box and the penalty taker converted. And it could've been an even more handsome win, had substitute Ageu not been denied by Schmeichel.

Celtic's second half was partially encapsulated in two incidents involving big-money recruit Engles.

The midfielder's wayward free-kick delivery was in sharp opposition to his European display in the Europa League win over Sturm Graz and the national team player was then booked for a cynical foul.

What They Said

The Hearts manager: "You see how hard the players work, the team spirit. That's not always enough to win games consistently.

"Our strength lies in, is skillful players. You're seeing that from a lot of players who have been here before. Recent additions are keen to demonstrate their quality.

"We've got a good thing going at the minute, but it's only three points. It's important for us to maintain this form. We've got much work ahead, loads to do. Following the initial fixtures is normally an indication of your standing."

The Celtic boss: "It's a really poor goal from our perspective. We didn't move when the play was recycled as a defensive unit so when they pass the ball, they should have players offside but didn't. We have got to do better with the shot.

"Plenty of matches to play for. It's only the beginning. It's just nine matches. Clearly, being eight points behind is not what we would want. The comfort is there's numerous fixtures to play.

"Our attention must turn on the present and look to achieve greater stability and more quality in our play."

Upcoming Fixtures for These Teams?

Celtic are back at home on Wednesday against promoted side Falkirk (19:45 GMT). At the identical hour in the top division, the Edinburgh outfit are at their opponents' ground.

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