Dundee United 0-0 Celtic: Visitors relinquish title after frustrating draw

Celtic finally relinquished their nine-year grip on the Scottish Premiership title after a frustrating draw at Dundee United confirmed Rangers as champions.

Only a victory could delay their Glasgow rivals from sealing their first title since 2011.

And despite registering 27 shots, Celtic could not find a way past Benjamin Siegrist in the United goal.

They are now 20 points behind Rangers with only 18 left to play for.

• Celtic 'not good enough' - Kennedy

Despite the draw, United's top-six hopes are effectively over as they trail St Mirren by three points with one game to play until the league splits, and are eight goals worse off.

While Rangers have been relentless, Celtic will reflect on how much damage they have done to themselves this season, which was supposed to be about clinching a record-breaking 10th consecutive title.

Instead, they never even looked like mounting a serious challenge after a poor run of results in the autumn was backed up by nine dropped points at the start of January amid the fallout of their trip to Dubai, which resulted in a positive Covid case which forced much of the squad into isolation.

Interim boss John Kennedy has been tasked with salvaging some pride after Neil Lennon resigned a fortnight ago, and at Tannadice they played with far more control in possession, and discipline without the ball.

But a continued lack of width in attack means they often run into crowded areas, and relied largely on shots from distance despite being completely dominant in terms of possession.

Even when they did work some space in the box, poor finishing allowed Siegrist - one of the best goalkeepers in the division - to keep the ball out in relative comfort.

The prime example was Stephen Welsh's header in the second-half, when he did well to rise high in the box and connect firmly with the ball, only to guide it straight at the Swiss goalkeeper.

Mohamed Elyounoussi also rattled a shot just past a post and headed wide in the final 15 minutes, with substitute Leigh Griffiths also heading into the arms of the goalkeeper.

For their part, United defended the width of their box relatively well, and Siegrist continues to be their star performer.

Micky Mellon's side offered little in attack until late on, with Marc McNulty's low drive on the counter their best chance, which was ultimately pushed away by Scott Bain.

A point against Celtic is a creditable result, but they needed victory to maintain their hopes of a top-six finish on their Premiership return.

Man of the match - Benjamin Siegrist

The United keeper was again excellent, even if some of Celtic's attempts were straight at him. Nonetheless, he is without doubt one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership.

What did we learn?

Celtic are a club in paralysis. In what was supposed to be an historic season, they have relinquished their long-held crown with a whimper.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell is going at the end of the season, manager Lennon has already gone, with no concrete certainty over his replacement, or whether there will be a director of football brought in. Key players are out of contract either this summer or next, as a massive rebuild looms. It is an incredible fall from grace.

Kennedy - currently the favourite to be the next manager - has the rest of the season to prove he could be the man to take the club forward, and there are small signs of improvement.

The return of James Forrest - who has missed nearly the whole season - was a bright spot at Tannadice. The pace and directness he brings has been a huge miss, and he holds his width to stretch defences.

As for United, a point against Rangers or Celtic is not to be sniffed at. When up against the better teams they are able to sit deep and frustrate, knowing that when called upon Siegrist will come to the rescue more often than not.

There is still a lingering doubt about what precisely their wider plan is - especially in attack - when up against teams around them. But that is a problem for next season. Consolidation was the key on their Premiership return, and that looks almost certain now.

What did they say?

Dundee United manager Micky Mellon: "The work-rate from a group of players to be able to get to the stage where we could put performances on like that has been relentless.

"But for a wee bit of being clinical, making sure of that pass, we could've found ourselves winners quite comfortably."

Celtic interim manager John Kennedy: "I thought we were dominant in the game, loads of chances. Ultimately, it's about putting the ball in the net and we didn't manage to do that.

"The goalkeeper did well for them but we weren't quite clinical enough in front of goal and that's what we must be better at."

What's next?

There will be endless guard of honour chat for the next fortnight as Celtic welcome champions Rangers to Celtic Park on 21 March (12:00 GMT). United, meanwhile, host Aberdeen the previous day (15:00) in their final pre-split fixture.