Celtic suffered their second defeat of the season, halting their winning momentum. Yang Hyun-jun was included on the substitute list but did not participate in the match, and Hibernian's Kwon Hyuk-kyu was also unable to play, so the anticipated "Korean Derby" did not take place.

Celtic lost 1-2 to Hibernian in the 27th round of the 2024-2025 season Scottish Premier League, held at Easter Road Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 22nd at 9:30 p.m. (Korea time).

Celtic, who recently recorded three consecutive league wins and surged to the top, maintained first place with 69 points despite this defeat. Meanwhile, Hibernian climbed to fourth place in the league with 37 points.

Hibernian's Kwon Hyuk-kyu missed the match due to a contractual clause preventing him from playing against his former team, Celtic. On the other hand, Yang Hyun-jun, who was in good form after registering an assist in a recent Champions League match against Bayern Munich, waited on the bench but did not get a chance to play.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Daizen Maeda, Adam Idah, and Nicholas Giannoulis in the attack. In the midfield, Callum McGregor, Matt McCowan, and Engel were placed, and the back four consisted of Greg Taylor, Troy Deeney, Carl Starfelt, and Josip Juranović. The goal was guarded by Kasper Schmeichel.

From the early stages of the match, Hibernian played aggressively and pressed Celtic. Just two minutes into the first half, Josh Campbell scored the opening goal with a powerful shot, receiving a pass from Nektarios Triantafyllou.

After conceding, Celtic tried to fight back, but they struggled to show decisiveness. In the 21st minute of the first half, Maeda attempted a shot from the center of the box, but it was blocked by the defensive wall. Later, in the 29th minute of the first half, Johnston's right-footed shot was also denied by the opposing goalkeeper's save, resulting in missed opportunities.

Instead, in first-half stoppage time, Hibernian shook the net again. Campbell completed a powerful header from a cross by Martin Boyle from the left flank, scoring his second goal. Initially, an offside was called, but the goal was confirmed after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, leaving Celtic to finish the first half trailing by two goals.

Celtic made changes at the start of the second half, substituting Idah, McCowan, and Taylor for Shulup, Hatate, and Jota. In the 67th minute, a shot from Hatate near the penalty box soared into the air, and while the defense was caught off-guard, Maeda made a late run and lightly tapped the ball in, scoring one goal back. The score was 1-2.

With the momentum in their favor, Celtic had a decisive counterattack opportunity in the 77th minute. Jota made a solo breakthrough from near the halfway line and attempted a shot, but Hibernian defender Rocky Bushiri dove in to block it in front of the goal. In the 82nd minute, it seemed that Maeda had scored an equalizer, but a VAR review determined that the preceding pass had gone out of bounds, resulting in the goal being disallowed.

In the six minutes of added time that followed, Celtic aggressively pushed for an equalizer but ultimately failed to add to the score, recording a 1-2 defeat.

With this defeat, Celtic ended their three-game league winning streak but still maintains first place. However, disappointment looms as they missed the chance to widen the gap with their rivals in the title race.

Meanwhile, Yang Hyun-jun watched the match from the bench and did not get a chance to play. Attention is drawn to how manager Brendan Rodgers will utilize him in the next match.

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