Hearts and Celtic set up final day Scottish Premiership title decider after VAR penalty award at Motherwell

Hearts were convincing 3-0 winners over Falkirk at Tynecastle, moving on to 80 points. First-half goals from Frankie Kent and Cammy Devlin put them in control against the Bairns before Blair Spittal added a third. The result meant that they have completed a full season undefeated at home for the first time since 1986.

It wasn't enough to clinch the league title with a game to spare as Celtic battled back to defeat Motherwell 3-2 at Fir Park with a 98th-minute winner from the penalty spot. Elliot Watt put the hosts in front on 17 minutes, but Daizen Maeda levelled just before the break and then Benjamin Nygren netted his 21st goal of the season to put the champions in front.

Liam Gordon looked to have sealed a point for Motherwell with five minutes to go and put Hearts on the brink of winning the league, but Kelechi Iheanacho netted from the spot after Sam Nicholson was deemed to have handled the ball in the box after a VAR review from referee John Beaton. Iheanacho scored to send the title race to the last day.

Celtic are now on 79 points and host Hearts on Saturday lunchtime. If they win, they will retain their Premiership crown, but should Hearts win over even draw, they will be crowned champions of Scotland for the first time since 1960.

Hearts have led the Premiership since September and have been impervious at home all season. Tynecastle was packed to the rafters for the visit of a Falkirk side that knocked them out of the Scottish Cup back in January on penalties. And while the Bairns started the game well and had a goal disallowed from Calvin Miller, once Hearts took the lead, they never looked back.

It was far less straightforward for Celtic over in Lanarkshire. However, they battled back from behind once again and have now won six league games in a row since losing to Dundee United at Tannadice in mid-March.

Hearts and Celtic both have Champions League football to look forward to next season as they are guaranteed a place in the top two. Finishing at the summit of the Premiership means the champions will enter Europe’s top tournament at the play-off round and are one tie away from reaching the main phase of the competition and unlocking a £30 million bounty.

Even if they do lose that two-legged affair, they will drop into the main phase of the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.

The team that finishes in second place enters the Champions League in the second qualifying round.

Celtic v Hearts takes place on Saturday with a 12.30pm kick off. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports.