“Chris Sutton STUNS FANS WITH BOLD TITLE RACE CLAIM LIVE FROM THE PITCH BEFORE Celtic F.C. VS Hibernian F.C. SUPPORTERS ERUPT ONLINE”
Celtic F.C. kept their Scottish Premiership title hopes alive with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Hibernian F.C. at Easter Road but the biggest talking point before kickoff was a bold claim made live on air by Celtic legend Chris Sutton that instantly sent supporters into meltdown online.
The former Celtic striker was speaking pitchside ahead of kickoff as both teams prepared for one of the biggest matches of the Scottish season. With Celtic entering the game under huge pressure after inconsistent results in recent weeks, Sutton made a statement that immediately grabbed headlines.
Before a ball was kicked, Sutton said live on television: “If Celtic don’t win today, their title hopes are finished. I’ve said for weeks they’ve been far too inconsistent, and I still believe Hearts and Rangers are better placed right now.”
His comments stunned many supporters because Sutton had already made similar remarks earlier in the title race. Just weeks ago, he openly claimed Celtic were effectively out of the race and said it was “between Hearts and Rangers” a statement that caused major debate across Scottish football at the time.
Many fans felt Sutton had once again piled pressure on Martin O’Neill’s side before such a crucial fixture.
The match itself exploded into life early when Jamie McGrath was shown a red card in the 21st minute after a reckless challenge that left Hibs supporters furious. Despite going down to 10 men, the home side continued to fight and remained dangerous on the counterattack.
Daizen Maeda broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute after Celtic finally made their pressure count, sending the away support into celebration.
But Hibs responded right before halftime when Joe Newell struck in stoppage time to level the game at 1-1 and completely change the mood inside Easter Road.
At halftime, fans online were already revisiting Sutton’s comments.
@HoopsMad67 posted: “Chris Sutton better be deleting those title race comments right now.”
@ParadiseFaithful wrote: “Why does Sutton always doubt Celtic before huge matches?”
@HibsCentral tweeted: “Sutton disrespecting Hibs before kickoff made this even sweeter.”
The second half was tense, physical and packed with drama as Celtic pushed desperately for a winner.
That breakthrough finally arrived in the 72nd minute when Kelechi Iheanacho fired home what proved to be the winning goal, sparking wild celebrations among the travelling Celtic supporters.
@CelticBhoy1888 wrote: “Chris Sutton said our title race was over and now we’ve won again. Unreal.”
@FootballTalkHQ posted: “Sutton creates headlines every single week.”
@SPFLDaily wrote: “That pre-match claim aged badly very quickly.”
@HibsForever added: “We still pushed them hard with 10 men. Proud of this team.”
Sutton’s history of controversial Celtic opinions has often divided supporters. Earlier this season he labelled some performances “embarrassing” and questioned whether the team had the mentality to win the title.
He also recently argued that “nobody fears Celtic” in the title race, a comment that sparked major backlash from supporters.
Following full-time, many fans admitted Sutton may have intentionally added pressure before kickoff to spark debate.
@HoopsZone posted: “He knew exactly what he was doing.”
@GreenBrigadeDaily wrote: “Chris Sutton says one sentence and breaks Scottish football Twitter.”
@NeutralZoneFootball posted: “Whether he’s right or wrong, Sutton knows how to dominate headlines.”
Meanwhile, manager Martin O’Neill praised his players for their resilience after full-time and insisted the title race is far from over.
For Celtic, the victory keeps them firmly in contention.
For Hibernian, it was a painful defeat despite a brave performance.
But for many supporters, the biggest drama happened before kickoff when one explosive statement from Chris Sutton lit up social media and created another unforgettable chapter in this chaotic Scottish title race.
