Celtic beat Motherwell 2-0 to return to summit

Celtic beat Motherwell 2-0 at Fir Park on Sunday, ending a run of three consecutive defeats and returning to the top of the Scottish Premiership. Camilo Durán opened the scoring and Benjamin Nygren added a second after the break, while Jota made his first appearance in more than 18 months as he returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Durán put Celtic ahead in the ninth minute, cutting inside from the right and scoring with a shot that went in off the post. The visitors created further chances before and after halftime but did not extend their lead until Nygren scored in the second half. Motherwell defender Stephen O’Donnell’s underhit pass toward his goalkeeper was intercepted by Kasper Høgh, who passed to Nygren. The midfielder rounded goalkeeper Alex Paulsen and finished despite defenders attempting to stop the shot. Høgh did not score but supplied the assist. Celtic had entered the match after three straight losses. The victory avoided a fourth defeat and offered a response after a difficult spell, though one win does not establish whether the team has begun a sustained recovery. Reports of the result said Celtic returned to the Premiership summit.