Kelechi Iheanacho's 99th-minute penalty saw Celtic beat Motherwell 3-2 as the Scottish Premiership title race heads down to the wire.

Liam Gordon seemed to have snatched a draw for Motherwell when he struck in the 85th minute, but Sam Nicholson's foul handed substitute Iheanacho the chance to win it for Martin O'Neill's team.

It was a hugely contentious moment, with referee John Beaton consulting the pitchside VAR monitor.

And the goal will no doubt have been cursed at Tynecastle, where leaders Hearts thumped Falkirk 3-0.

Had Celtic drawn, then the Hoops would have needed to beat Hearts by three clear goals on Saturday in order to clinch the title. 

Now, Celtic know a victory at home would see them claim the crown, while Hearts know a first title since 1960 will be theirs if they can avoid defeat.

Elliot Watt put Motherwell ahead in the 17th minute, but Celtic flipped the script thanks to Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Nygren.

The visitors' bubble was burst when Gordon equalised, but Celtic received a huge lifeline when referee Beaton seemingly decided that Nicholson had elbowed Austin Trusty, or handled the ball, while challenging for a throw, and with virtually the last kick of the game, Iheanacho kept his cool.

It will no doubt have subdued the celebrations in Edinburgh, but Hearts are still in control of their own destiny.

Third-place Rangers, meanwhile, suffered a fourth straight defeat as Dane Scarlett snatched a 2-1 win for Hibernian late on at Ibrox, where Gers captain James Tavernier did not feature after leaving the stadium before kick-off, seemingly due to having been left out of the lineup for what would have been his final match on home soil.

Data Debrief: Celtic grind it out

After storming to victory over Rangers on Sunday, Celtic could not keep up those levels at Fir Park.

Celtic may have finished with the higher expected goals (xG) tally – 1.37 to Motherwell's 1.21 – but 0.78 of that figure came from the last-gasp penalty.

O'Neill will feel his team did enough, given they created four big chances to Motherwell's two, but the Hoops were far from their best, and will have to be much improved if they are to overcome Hearts, even with home advantage.

Iheanacho, meanwhile, came up big when it mattered. This was just his 12th league appearance of the season, but he has netted five goals, and this one could prove to be one of the most crucial of his Celtic career.