Partick 0 Celtic 2
Chris Sutton struck twice in the first half to give Scottish champions Celtic a comfortable 2-0 win at Partick Thistle today.
The victory closed the gap on premier league leaders Rangers to three points.
Rangers, who beat Aberdeen 2-1 yesterday, lead the table on 69 points, while Celtic have 66. Both have played 26 games.
"We've got to keep winning because Rangers don't look like slipping up," said Sutton. "We've still to play them twice so we know how important it is to stay on their coat-tails."
Celtic handed Neil Lennon a start for the first time since their UEFA Cup tie against Celta Vigo in December and took the lead on seven minutes when Sutton turned Jackie McNamara's shot into the net.
Celtic goalkeeper Magnus Hedman needed to be alert to save David Rowson's shot on 21 minutes before the visitors went 2-0 ahead on 33 minutes.
David Lilley failed to clear the ball from his own box and the clearance dropped for Sutton to coolly slot home.
Henrik Larsson almost netted a third goal minutes later when he curled a free kick narrowly wide and Sutton walloped the ball over from close range when his hat-trick beckoned on 56 minutes.
"I'm very pleased and I thought we were fantastic in the first half and played really, really well," said Celtic manager Martin O'Neill.
"I didn't really want halftime to come and we didn't get into any sort of groove in the second half even though we had some great chances to put the game beyond Partick."
O'Neill now looks forward to his side's League Cup semi-final with Dundee United at Hampden on Thursday. "I'm pleased that we're still in it and we'll give it everything we've got," he said.