A closer look at Celtic’s Premiership title triumphs

The Hoops were 13 points clear.

Celtic scored 89 goals in 30 league matches

Newly-crowned Scottish champions Celtic exceeded the goal tallies of four of their previous eight-title winning campaigns despite only playing 30 of their scheduled 38 matches this season.

The Hoops have been declared Ladbokes Premiership winners after opening up a 13-point lead before the pandemic curtailed the season.

They had also surpassed their final points total for the second campaign in their current nine-in-a-row run.

Here, the PA news agency compares Celtic’s unique title triumph with the others in their record-equalling sequence.

2011-12

Neil Lennon lifts the SPL trophy (Lynn Cameron/PA)

Points total = 93
Points gap = 20
Runners-up = Rangers
Goals scored = 84

Current boss Neil Lennon guided the Hoops to their first title in four years. Rangers were deducted 10 points for going into administration.

2012-13

Points total = 79
Points gap = 16
Runners-up = Motherwell
Goals scored = 92

With Rangers re-emerging in the bottom tier of Scottish football after their financial problems, the path was clear for Celtic to retain their title, which they did with five games remaining.

2013-14

Neil Lennon collected the third title — Lennon collected the third title (Danny Lawson/PA)

Points total = 99
Points gap = 29
Runners-up = Motherwell
Goals scored = 102

Lennon won his third successive title before he made way for Norwegian boss Ronny Deila. Celtic clinched the title on March 26 with a 5–1 away win at Partick Thistle. It was the earliest the title had been won since 1929.

2014-15

Points total = 92
Points gap = 17
Runners-up = Aberdeen
Goals scored = 84

Celtic got off to a slow start under Deila but eventually got it together and went undefeated domestically in January and February. Aberdeen kept plugging away but fell away after the split, taking only one point from their last four matches.

2015-16

Ronny Deila with the Premiership trophy after a 7-0 win over Motherwell in his last game (Danny Lawson/PA)

Points total= 86
Points gap = 15
Runners-up = Aberdeen
Goals scored = 93

Aberdeen were again the best of the rest in Deila’s last season in charge. The Dons beat Celtic twice in the league at Pittodrie but could not keep up the challenge.

2016-17

Brendan Rodgers enjoyed unprecedented success in his first season (Craig Watson/PA)

Points total = 106
Points gap = 30
Runners-up = Aberdeen
Goals scored = 106

Brendan Rodgers’ first season as Celtic manager brought the domestic treble and ‘invincible’ status in the league. The Hoops won 34 and drew four of their 38 league games to win their 48th title. Aberdeen saw off a challenge from newly-promoted Rangers to hold on to runners-up status.

2017-18

Points total = 82
Points gap = 9
Runners-up = Aberdeen
Goals scored = 73

Rodgers led Celtic to a second consecutive domestic treble but this time there were four defeats and 10 draws in the Premiership. However, the title victory was still commanding and made sweeter by clinching it with a 5-0 home win over third-placed Rangers.

2018-19

Neil Lennon got his hands on the Premiership trophy again — Lennon got his hands on the Premiership trophy again (Jane Barlow/PA)

Points total = 87
Points gap = 9
Runners-up = Rangers
Goals scored = 77

Lennon returned in February following Rodgers’ sudden departure for Leicester and continued a strong run of domestic form. Celtic and Rangers started 2019 level on points but the Hoops won 13 and drew three of their subsequent 16 matches, conceding just three times in the process.

2019-20

Leigh Griffiths hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over St Mirren in what proved to be Celtic's final game of the season — Leigh Griffiths hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over St Mirren in what proved to be Celtic’s final game of the season (PA)

Points total = 80
Points gap = 13
Runners-up = Rangers (after 29 games played)
Goals scored = 89

Rangers won at Celtic Park on December 29 to move two points behind with a game in hand but the champions only dropped two points in 2020 before the season was brought to a premature end.