Celtic 1-0 St Mirren: Celtic Leave It Late In Premiership Opener

Celtic began their Scottish Premiership title defence with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over St Mirren.

Going into Sunday's clash at Celtic Park as overwhelming favourites, the Bhoys were frustrated until the 87th minute, when Luke McCowan netted.

Predictably, Celtic dominated in front of a full house, but were unable to make their unrelenting possession count in the first half.

Captain Callum McGregor had a goal ruled out for offside via a tight VAR call, and Reo Hatate and Adam Idah saw their respective efforts cannon back off the woodwork.

Fortunately for Celtic, substitute McCowan was on hand to grab a crucial winner, with his deflected effort from the edge of the area nestling into the bottom-right corner.

McCowan's goal ensured Celtic avoided the same fate as rivals Rangers, who were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw at Motherwell in their opening game on Saturday.

Data Debrief: Celtic's Opening Day Run Rolls On

Despite boasting 77% possession, Celtic's expected goals (xG) was an underwhelming 1.74, but they will be happy with their defensive work, having restricted their visitors to 0.27.

This victory represents Celtic's fifth consecutive opening day win, and they have won 17 of their last 18 such league outings. Rodgers, meanwhile, is unbeaten in each of his last 12 matchday one games as a manager across spells with Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester City (W10 D2).

Celtic also continue to hold the upper hand against St Mirren, winning 12 of their last 14 meetings in all competitions, though they were held to a 1-1 draw by them on the final day of last season.