Camilo Duran scored twice as Celtic began their recovery from a painful Champions League exit with a 2-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Falkirk.
The Colombian striker capitalised on a costly error by former Hoops goalkeeper Scott Bain to put Celtic ahead after four minutes, before doubling the champions’ advantage from Kieran Tierney’s cross before half-time.
Falkirk pulled one back in the second half when Colby Donovan turned the ball into his own net after Viljami Sinisalo had saved Jacob Murrell’s low effort, but Celtic held on to preserve their perfect league start.
The result gives Celtic three wins from three in the Scottish Premiership, while John McGlynn’s Falkirk remain without a league victory.
Celtic were playing their first match since surrendering a four-goal lead to crash out of Europe’s elite competition. Before the game, manager Martin O’Neill had challenged his players to demonstrate their true “character”.
They emerged to face a banner from supporters which read “world-class embarrassment”, but the mood inside the stadium quickly changed when Bain’s mistake handed Duran the opening goal. The effort was confirmed after a VAR check.
Duran struck again in the 29th minute. Tierney delivered a cross into the area, and the forward was left unmarked before sweeping his finish into the bottom corner.
Celtic could have made the contest far more comfortable before the interval. Benjamin Nygren headed over from a cross in the 33rd minute, then burst into the box a minute later but fired above the crossbar.
Nygren had another opportunity in the 38th minute, only for the Falkirk goalkeeper to push his effort over the bar.
Falkirk began the second half positively, with Parkinson bringing the ball under control inside the penalty area before turning and shooting over in the 48th minute.
Two minutes later, Bain redeemed himself by making a close-range save from Nygren following an excellent pass from Oxlade-Chamberlain. Nygren continued to threaten and curled a shot from just inside the box narrowly over the bar in the 52nd minute.
Celtic thought they had opportunities to restore their two-goal cushion, with Liam Scales heading over from Yang’s cross in the 65th minute.
Falkirk were given renewed hope in the 72nd minute. Murrell’s low shot was kept out by Sinisalo, but the rebound resulted in Donovan putting the ball into his own net.
Nygren then sent another effort high over the bar in the 76th minute, with Baur furious because he believed the chance should have been left for him.
Celtic goalkeeper Bain was called upon again late on, saving Osmand’s low effort in the 86th minute, and the hosts saw out the remaining stages to secure a victory that eased some of the disappointment from their midweek European collapse.
