Celtic begin their Scottish Premiership season with a victory, but are far from convincing as they struggle to break down a resilient St Mirren.

Defending Scottish Premiership champions Celtic held on to all three points in their 2025/26 season opener on Sunday after a narrow 1-0 win against St. Mirren.  Scorer: McCowan 87'The stage was set

LUKE MCCOWAN’S DEFLECTED strike earned Celtic a 1-0 victory in their William Hill Premiership opener after St Mirren had frustrated the champions for 87 minutes at Parkhead. The substitute collected Daizen Maeda’s square pass on the edge of a crowded penalty box and fired a shot which appeared to spin off Mark O’Hara’s leg and nestle into the bottom corner of the net.

Celtic have been drawn against Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan or Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava in their Champions League play-off tie, while Rangers could face RB Salzburg. Brendan Rodgers' side reached the knockout round play-off stage of the competition last season from the 36-team league phase,

Celtic and Rangers' paths to the Champions League league phase have been determined at a draw in in Nyon on Monday. As reigning league winners, Celtic were placed in the champions path of the draw and will face just one play-off round.