Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 at Celtic Park in Glasgow on Sunday 18 October 2026. The result moved the home side four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, while Hearts stay third in the table.
Celtic led 2-0 inside 10 minutes, and both goals came from corners taken by Mika Baur. Kieran Tierney headed in the first, and Benjamin Nygren added a deflected volley for the second. Tierney's goal came at 7 minutes and Nygren's at 10 minutes.
Callum Osmand then scored twice, in the 36th and 38th minutes. His first goal was on his first start, after a poor pass from Sabri Guendouz. His second came after Camilo Duran's effort was saved by Hearts goalkeeper Beau Reus. The game was described as a thrashing at Parkhead.
Laurent Mendy pulled one back for Hearts, with the time recorded as 41 minutes. Just before half-time, Stephen Kingsley and Jamie McCart combined to put the ball into their own net, with the own goal credited to McCart.
Duran curled in Celtic's sixth shortly after the restart, and Nygren added the seventh in the 83rd minute. Hearts had hit the post through Haissem Hassan in the 18th minute. Vrancken blamed individual errors rather than his approach.
Vrancken said: "It was really disappointing because of the way it happened, especially when you let them score from two set-plays." He added: "We made mistakes that we wouldn't normally make. That's it. I'm sorry." Kris Boyd said: "I have never seen anything like it in my life."
Ex‑Hearts defender Ryan McGowan said Hearts gave the ball away often in dangerous areas. He also said they conceded again four minutes into the second half, despite the half‑time team talk.
The game was Hearts' first visit to Celtic Park since the title decider last season, when Celtic won 3-1 on the final day after Hearts had led the table since September. Vrancken replaced Derek McInnes, who moved to Rangers, this summer. Hearts had beaten St Mirren 5-0 at home eight days earlier, their biggest home win since 2023.
