Title within touching distance

Scottish League : Celtic moved to within two victories of clinching the Scottish Premier League title with a 2-1 home win over…

Scottish League: Celtic moved to within two victories of clinching the Scottish Premier League title with a 2-1 home win over Inverness Caley Thistle.

The match was their first home encounter since the death of their greatest player Jimmy Johnstone and fans showed their respect with a thunderous minute of applause.

The two teams were joined in the centre circle by surviving members of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic side which won the 1967 European Cup, who carried a replica trophy on to the pitch.

Celtic opened the scoring with a looping header from defender Stephen McManus after 35 minutes from a corner by Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura.

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Shaun Maloney sealed the points with a terrific free kick from 20 metres, swerving the ball up and over the defensive wall into the top left of the net after 78 minutes.

The visitors pulled a goal back when Richie Hart's 25-metre shot slipped under Polish keeper Artur Boruc.

Celtic now have 76 points from 30 games, 17 ahead of second placed Hearts with eight games remaining. Celtic can now clinch their 40th league title with wins over Livingston and Hearts. Champions Rangers have 53 points from 30 matches.