Celtic maintain perfect start thanks to penalty calls

Celtic got the better of two VAR interventions to maintain their perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season with a 2-0 win over Hearts on Saturday.

New signings Arne Engels and Luke McCowan were on target for the Scottish champions but only after two controversial penalty decisions.

Hearts remain without a win all season after a seventh consecutive defeat, but were left ruing their luck at Celtic Park.

The visitors were initially awarded a penalty in the first half for a handball by Liam Scales, which was overturned after a lengthy VAR review.

At the start of the second period, the roles were reversed as the on-field referee did not point to the spot when James Penrice's outstretched arm deflected Nicholas Kuhn's cross.

This time the VAR intervened to award the spot-kick, which Celtic's record signing Engels stroked home on his full debut.

McCowan then came off the bench to curl in the second in the 89th minute.

"The players showed a real patience in the game. When we get our penalty, we could then move through the gears," said Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

Celtic's attention now turns to trying to the Champions League when Slovan Bratislava visit Glasgow on Wednesday.

Aberdeen remained level on points with Celtic at the top of the table thanks to Pape Habib Gueye's double in a 2-1 victory over Motherwell.

The rejuvenated Senegalese striker scored either side of halftime to extend Jimmy Thelin's winning start as Aberdeen boss to 10 games in all competitions.

Both Celtic and Aberdeen are now eight points clear of fourth-placed Rangers, who travel to Dundee United on Sunday.

Hibernian picked up their first win in the league this season, beating St. Johnstone 2-0, while Ross County did likewise against Dundee for their first victory of the campaign.

Kilmarnock are still waiting for their first win but battled back with 10 men to secure a 2-2 draw at St. Mirren.