Aberdeen suffered opening day defeat at Parkhead as they went down 2-0 to champions Celtic.
The Dons were unsettled by a whirlwind start by the hosts, which saw them fall behind to Stephen Welsh’s header inside the opening three minutes.
Jim Goodwin’s men crept back into the game as the first half wore on, but were unable to cancel out Celtic’s advantage.
Jonny Hayes missed the best of Aberdeen’s chances when he struck wide from an excellent position, in what went down as a potential turning point.
Aberdeen’s hopes of mounting a comeback were extinguished 15 minutes from time when Jota added a second for Celtic, to cap off their championship flag unveiling celebrations.
Despite the defeat, Goodwin will take encouragement from the way his side recovered from a nightmare start to cause Ange Postecoglou’s side problems.
Goodwin’s opening Premiership line-up showed two changes from the side which defeated Raith Rovers 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup last time out.
Liam Scales was unavailable against his parent club, while Mason Hancock has since joined Arbroath on loan.
That prompted a reshuffle, with Ross McCrorie moved back to defence to present an opportunity for Dante Polvara in midfield, while there was a debut for Hayden Coulson at left back.
The trip to Glasgow’s east end provided a challenging step up for a Dons side which had yet to concede in four Premier Sports Cup matches.
The Reds’ defence was breached within just three minutes however. Matt O’Riley, whose initial shot had been blocked behind, swung in a corner from which Welsh was able to rise above Polvara to guide a header past Kelle Roos.
It was a nightmare start for the visitors but an opening nearly presented itself for the Dons on eight minutes when Jonny Hayes was closed down by Joe Hart as he bore down on goal. The ball broke loose but the Celtic goalkeeper managed to recover before Bojan Miovski could profit.
Roos was forced into his first save shortly afterwards, with the Dutchman relatively comfortable in holding on to a low Reo Hatate strike from distance.
Celtic continued to look dangerous, with Jota picking out Kyogo who got in ahead of Anthony Stewart to get a shot away, which was beaten clear by Roos.
Although the Dons were having to defend they were standing tall to the pressure coming their way, with Polvara making a vital clearance from a Jota cutback, while a powerful O’Riley effort was tipped over by Roos.
Matty Kennedy was the first visiting player to get a shot at goal on 36 minutes, when his strike was easily gathered by Hart following Coulson’s driving run forward.
The Reds spurned a glorious chance to level just two minutes later. A sublime pass by Ylber Ramadani released Besuijen, who cut inside before teeing up Jonny Hayes, but he could not keep his sidefooted effort on target from 14 yards.
Aberdeen were growing into the game though, going into the interval as the team on top to take tangible encouragement into the second period.
Celtic remained capable of inflicting a further blow with Roos forced into a double save on 56 minutes when he firstly denied Josip Juranovic, before he made an even better stop to thwart O’Riley’s volleyed follow up.
Goodwin looked to his bench for the firsts time just after the hour mark, with Callum Roberts brought on for his debut and Luis Lopes also entering the field, with Miovski and Kennedy making way.
Celtic pushed for a clinching second goal, with Jota off target with a curling strike from distance, while Giorgios Giakoumakis prodded wide following a delivery from the left flank. Roos, who was having an assured league debut, made another fine save to deny Liel Abada’s strike.
The goalkeeper was beaten on 75 minutes when Jota worked his way into a shooting position 25 yards out before planting a sweet strike into Roos’ far corner.
Aberdeen made a late push to get back into the game, with Polvara seeing a deflected header tipped over by Hart, but the Hoops comfortably saw out the game.
CELTIC (4-3-3) – Hart 6; Juranovic 6 (Ralston 82), Welsh 7, Carter-Vickers 7, Taylor 6; McGregor 7, Hatate 6 (Turnbull 65), O’Riley 8 (Mooy 82); Jota 8, Maeda 7 (Abada 65), Kyogo 6 (Giakoumakis 65). Subs not used – Siegrist, Jenz, Bernabei, Forrest.
ABERDEEN (4-2-3-1) – Roos 7; Richardson 6, Stewart 6, McCrorie 7, Coulson 7; Ramadani 6, Polvara 6; Kennedy 5 (Roberts 62), Besuijen 6, Hayes 6; Miovski 5 (Lopes 62). Subs not used – Lewis, Watkins, McLennan, Duncan, Milne, Harvey, Ramirez.
Referee – Nick Walsh
Attendance – 55,824
Man of the match: Matt O’Riley
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