Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Tuesday, 05 May 2026, 08:53 / Updated Tuesday, 05 May 2026 08:53
monday evening Hearts (Heart of Midlothian) came back from 0-1 with Rangers at the break and got 3 precious points in the title fight. With 3 stages remaining, the team from Edinburgh is the leader and favorite for the trophy! It would be the first time in 41 years that a band other than Rangers or Celtic conquer the championship.
A crucial game for the title race in Scotland took place on Monday night in the Championship play-offs. Hearts, in 1st place with 73 points, as many as Celtic, received the visit of Rangers, 69 points.
A victory for the guests would have made the Scots have a 3-way battle for the title, a success for the team from the Capital would have turned them into favorites for the trophy.
Crucial Scottish title game: Hearts turn Rangers back!
Rangers struck first, in the 23rd minute, through Dujon Sterling. The goal came after a long throw from the edge into the opposition box and an unfortunate rejection by a home defender in the direction of Sterling.
That was the half-time score, 0-1, after a first half in which the home team had sent just one shot.
In the second half, Hearts started to play. Stephen Kingsley equalized in the 54th minute after Kyziridis had hit the bar, the captain Lawrence Shankland scored the winning goal in '71 with a shot to the grass in the short corner after the scorer of the first goal had put the ball out excellently in the central area, somewhere 14 meters from the goal.
Hearts are now title favorites in Scotland!
Hearts thus restored their 3-point advantage over Celtic and put Rangers out of the reckoning, with Ianis Hagi's former side now 7 points behind.
In the last 3 legs, Hearts will play Motherwell away, Falkirk at home and at Celtic's ground respectively. All the team from the capital, coached by Derek McInnes, has to do is to win the first two games, preferably by as big a margin as possible.
That would even allow them to lose in the last leg, with Celtic, just not by many goals, because the main tie-breaking criterion is goal difference. At the moment, Hearts have +32, Celtic +27. And then Celtic will play at home with the rival Rangers!
Standings in Scotland with 3 stages remaining
It would be the first time since 1985 that a team other than Celtic or Rangers have won the title in Scotland. 41 years ago, the champion was Aberdeen, under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson!
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Hearts are 4 times Scottish champions, but last won the title in 1960. The first one dates back to the 19th century, season 1894/1895!
