A late strike by substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu gave Celtic a hard-fought 2-1 cinch Premiership win over St Mirren at Parkhead.
Saints attacker Conor McMenamin headed the well-organised visitors into a shock lead in the seventh minute but the Hoops responded as expected.
Returning midfielder David Turnbull levelled in the 18th minute with a terrific strike before hitting the post with a penalty just before the half-hour mark.
Brendan Rodgers’ men kept working away in the second half and eventually got their reward in the 83rd minute when South Korean attacker Oh, on for Turnbull, fired high past excellent Buddies goalkeeper Zach Hemming for his first goal of the season.
Rodgers’ side had dropped points at the weekend with a goalless draw at Hibernian but the main talking point ahead of the game was the Green Brigade’s ban from Celtic Park for “increasingly serious escalation in unacceptable behaviours”.
The move came after incidents including the fan group’s co-ordination of a display showing solidarity with the people of Palestine at last week’s Champions League game against Atletico Madrid and their absence impacted on the atmosphere.
Rodgers, however, had to get on with winning a game of football and with centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers rested he brought in Nat Phillips, with Turnbull and winger James Forrest reinstated as Paulo Bernardo and Daizen Maeda dropped to the bench.
The visitors, with Ryan Strain back from suspension and Caolan Boyd-Munce and Toyosi Olusanya back in the side, stunned the home side with the early opener.
Greg Kiltie’s curling cross from wide on the left was met by Northern Ireland attacker McMenamin and he gave keeper Joe Hart no chance with his header from close range.
The goal concentrated Celtic minds while the fans began grumbling at St Mirren taking the lead.
But they had cause to cheer when Turnbull picked up a Matt O’Riley pass 20 yards from goal and curled a shot high past Buddies keeper Hemming.
There was a handball check by VAR when Turnbull’s shot came off the sliding Buddies midfielder Alex Gogic and when referee John Beaton checked his pitchside monitor he inevitably pointed to the spot.
Turnbull’s spot-kick struck the post, Luis Palma’s effort from the rebound was well-saved by Hemming and then Matt O’Riley headed past the post and Saints breathed again.
Celtic increased the pressure just before the break with Hemming preventing Gogic inadvertently slicing a clearance into his own net before making a good save from Palma’s low drive.
An intricate move early in the second half ended with Hemming making a fine save from Forrest’s drive from 10 yards before the winger and Palma made way for Maeda and South Korean attacker Yang Hyun-jun.
Celtic kept knocking at the door and seven minutes from the end Oh took a pass from fellow substitute Odin Thiago Holm inside the box and drove high into the net.
The hosts should have scored again in added time when Kyogo Furuhashi was clean through, only to be foiled by Hemming.
Van Dijk insists he will be part of Liverpool's transition from Klopp
Virgil van Dijk says he will be "part of" the big transition following Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of the season.
The German will leave Liverpool after nine years in charge, with a deal agreed for Feyenoord manager, Arne Slot, to replace him.
Van Dijk, who signed for Liverpool in January 2018, is going into the final year of his contract, and admitted he has not heard anything about an extension.
"There is nothing for me to discuss because there is no news," Van Dijk said.
"I think the club is very much busy with who is going to be the new manager and that is the main focus.
"I am very happy here. I love the club, and you can see that as well. It’s a big part of my life already. The focus is now on the last two games and then the club will focus on who the new manager is and there will be a big transition, and I am part of that.
"When the season is over and there is news, we will focus on what is coming next, but it is a fact that there will be a lot of changes happening, and it will be interesting. I am here to be a part of that and looking forward to it.
"I am the captain, so I want to help, I will help, and I should help. If he [Slot] is the one who comes, then let’s see.
"There will be a lot of changes happening. I wouldn’t say scary is the right word, but it is quite interesting and exciting what will happen now."
Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-2 on Sunday, putting recent setbacks behind them to return to winning ways at Anfield.
The Reds won the EFL Cup in February, and though a Premier League title now looks unlikely, Van Dijk is hopeful that they can finish Klopp’s reign strongly.
"Listen, if you said at the start of the season that this is how it would have gone, then I think we would have taken that," he added.
"We are winners, and we were close. We weren’t good enough in the decisive moments, but that is life. We have to stick together, and we will.
"A few of us have been in title races and on the losing sides at times and it hurts. But we have to take this experience with us, and you only improve if you learn and that is the aim, and we can take that into next season. We want to give the manager a good farewell and do it for ourselves as well."
Zidane rules out Bayern move as Bundesliga giants linked with Ten Hag
Zinedine Zidane has ruled out taking over at Bayern Munich, amid suggestions Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is also of interest to the Bundesliga giants.
Bayern have been frustrated in their search for a successor to Thomas Tuchel, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season after overseeing their first failure to win the Bundesliga since 2012.
Preferred candidate Xabi Alonso – who was also linked with Liverpool – has reaffirmed his commitment to Bayer Leverkusen, while Julian Nagelsmann decided to continue as Germany boss after being linked with a return to the Allianz Arena.
Ralf Rangnick was the latest coach to be linked with the Bavarian giants last week, only for the Austria boss to follow Alonso and Nagelsmann by saying he will stay in his current role.
That leaves Bayern back to square one in their bid to find a replacement for Tuchel, who has refused to rule out a dramatic U-turn. One man who will not be taking over, however, is Zidane.
While attending the Miami Grand Prix, the former Real Madrid coach was asked by Sky Sports Germany if he expected Los Blancos to overcome Bayern in the teams' Champions League semi-final tie.
Asked who he thought would reach the final, Zidane said: "Hopefully Madrid, but it's going to be a difficult game."
Zidane was then asked whether he was in contention for the Bayern job, to which he said: "No. I'm just going to watch the game."
Another man touted as a possible candidate to replace Tuchel, Julen Lopetegui, has reportedly agreed to take charge of West Ham at the end of the season.
On Sunday, a report from Sky Sports claimed the Bundesliga giants are also considering a surprise move for United boss Ten Hag, who coached Bayern's second team between 2013 and 2015.
Ten Hag has come under severe pressure this season with United facing a fight to qualify for the Europa League, but the Dutchman is reportedly uninterested in a move.
Day of drama sets up thrilling WSL finale as Chelsea hit back in title race
Manchester City approached Sunday's Women's Super League fixtures with the title race firmly in their hands, their meeting with Arsenal giving them a chance to put one hand on the trophy.
City's chances of a first WSL title since 2016 had received a massive boost in midweek as rivals Chelsea suffered a stunning 4-3 defeat to Liverpool.
That result sent shockwaves through the league and left the Blues' hopes of a fifth straight WSL success hanging by a thread, so much so that boss Emma Hayes declared the title race to be over.
Chelsea entered the weekend six points behind City with a game in hand, with Gareth Taylor's team also leading the way on goal difference by seven goals and potentially needing just one win to take the title.
However, this rollercoaster of a season took yet another turn on a super Sunday for the ages.
The early kick-off
It was an emotional start to the day at the Joie Stadium, as City waved goodbye to club legend Steph Houghton ahead of their final home game of the season, giving her a guard of honour for a decade of service in sky blue.
As expected, the game matched the electric atmosphere created by a record crowd of 5,409 fans, with both teams looking to get on the front foot in a high-octane start to the game.
Lauren Hemp proved once again why both Taylor and Sarina Wiegman put so much faith in her, receiving a lay-off from Leila Ouahabi and finding room to smash her shot into the corner 17 minutes in, leaving Manuela Zinsberger with no chance.
Hemp has now contributed to at least one goal in each of her last four WSL appearances (two goals, three assists), but she and her city team-mates would rue their missed opportunities after a dominant first half.
After the interval, Arsenal showed why they had been so close to Chelsea and City for much of this campaign.
Substitute Stina Blackstenius, having denied Chelsea their first opportunity of silverware in the League Cup final, was also the villain of City's story, poking home from close range after City failed to deal with a corner after 89 minutes.
The drama was not done there, though, with Blackstenius delivering an even bigger blow to City's title chances three minutes later. Kim Little floated her pass over the hosts' defence, and the Swede was totally unmarked as she headed home two minutes into stoppage time.
Arsenal have now scored eight goals via substitutes in the WSL this campaign, a tally only bettered by Manchester United (nine). The Gunners have also scored 14 goals in the final 15 minutes of games, with United (16) the only team with more in that period.
City boss Taylor cut a disappointed figure after the game, telling BBC Sport: "I always said I thought it would go to the final game and it's never changed. We knew what we had to do.
"We will pick ourselves up. We've always reacted well to negative results. We wanted to be in control and we've lost a little bit of that, but we still have one more game.
"It's not easy. You've seen today how the momentum can be in your favour and quickly be taken from you.
"Chelsea opened the door the other night and we've opened it back again a little bit. It is what it is, but nothing has changed in our thought process."
Arsenal have now won 13 points from losing positions in the WSL this season, more than any other team. Jonas Eidevall's side just fell short of being involved in the title picture themselves, but their win on Sunday kept rivals Chelsea in with a realistic shot of glory.
"Those sorts of things, we can't really control," he told BBC Sport. "It just shows what we are as a team and that we never give up.
"We put in a really strong performance and now it's up to other teams to put in strong performances. It's not really any of my business who is going to win."
The late kick-off
Later on Sunday, it was Chelsea's turn to provide an emotional farewell, with Emma Hayes taking charge of her final game at Kingsmeadow as she prepares to take the United States job after 12 years with the Blues.
Hayes was welcomed to the field with rapturous applause, looking emotional as she held the hand of her son Harry, surveying the home crowd for the final time as Chelsea manager. Sunday's match also represented a home send-off for the club's leading goalscorer Fran Kirby and defender Maren Mjelde, both of whom will leave this summer.
Having suffered Champions League heartache and seen their title hopes dented in a week to forget, Hayes' team had nothing to lose against already-relegated Bristol City, and that is exactly how they played.
Hayes made six changes to her lineup and the tiredness that plagued Chelsea in midweek was gone, the Blues never looking back once they went ahead through Guro Reiten's sixth-minute penalty.
Sjoeke Nusken struck a scrappy second before the in-form Aggie Beever-Jones added a third shortly after the break. Reiten then added a fourth with a screamer from outside the area.
Knowing the importance of goal difference after City's slip-up, Chelsea continued to throw players forward. Macario slid in Reiten to clinch her hat-trick from a tight angle, and after Niamh Charles had made it 6-0, the Norwegian added her fourth of the game with another rasping long-range strike.
Reiten then turned provider and crossed for Beever-Jones to head in Chelsea's eighth. Beever-Jones has now contributed to eight goals in her last five league games (six goals, two assists), stepping up after injuries deprived the Blues of key players.
Chelsea were clinical with their 20 shots, scoring eight goals in a WSL game for the first time since beating Leicester City by the same scoreline in December 2022 to put Wednesday's defeat firmly in the rearview mirror.
Now one better off than City on goal difference, Chelsea know a victory over Tottenham in their game in hand on Wednesday will take them top ahead of the final set of fixtures on Saturday.
Hayes addressed the home faithful at Kingsmeadow with her players watching on after the game, rowing back on her earlier claim that the title race was over.
"Let me be clear. It is not over," she declared. "There is no time for sentimentality. All work drinks are cancelled, there is a title to be won.
"You know what? That group of players taught me something so special this week; that you never ever give up. This is what it means to be Chelsea."
Speaking to Sky Sports, Hayes added: "We wanted to make sure it was a game to remember for the fans.
"That shows when you have belief. I said to the players that if Man City slip up, we had to be ready. Today was another opportunity to get closer to something that was slipping out of our grasp.
"If you told me at the beginning of the day Arsenal would beat City in the last five minutes and we would win 8-0, what are the odds of that? I'm super proud. Days like today are everything Chelsea represents."
The Opta Supercomputer still makes City favourites after a dramatic day, though, giving Taylor's team a 55.1 per cent chance of breaking Chelsea's dominance and spoiling Hayes' leaving party.
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