Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain triumphed with Celtic as they beat Hearts late on to clinch the Scottish Premiership in dramatic fashion.

Just four months ago, Oxlade-Chamberlain was without a club and maintaining his fitness at Arsenal, having terminated his contract at Besiktas in August.

Celtic came calling in early February, though, to offer the former Liverpool midfielder a new lease of life under interim manager Martin O’Neill.

At 32 years old, he has played just nine times since moving to Glasgow, but he still made a couple of vital contributions to their title win, not least his late winning goal in injury-time on his debut.

A historic afternoon at Celtic Park

Thanks to Wednesday’s late drama, that saw Kelechi Iheanacho convert a controversial late penalty to prevent Hearts winning the league, a final-day decider was set up in Glasgow.

Hearts were looking to become the first team other than Celtic or Rangers to win the league since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen side of 1985, and all they needed was a point.

With Celtic needing to win on the last day, Hearts shocked Parkhead by opening the scoring thanks to Lawrence Shankland’s header from a corner, a route to goal that has become familiar for Derek McInnes’ side.

The hosts struck back quickly, though, Arne Engels netting a crucial penalty just before the break after Alexandros Kyziridis was judged to have handled the ball.

After the break, Celtic came out and dominated. The woodwork was struck and for a while it felt like the ball would never cross the line.

? Goal STANDS!

After a VAR check for offside, Celtic take a late lead over Hearts through Daizen Maeda. Now, as it stands, they’ll be champions! ? pic.twitter.com/apMfVwfQjX

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 16, 2026

However, they got their reward in the 87th minute thanks to Daizen Maeda, who broke down in tears of joy once the goal had been given.

It had initially been chalked off due to offside. However, upon review, neither he nor Callum Osmand were even close to being off.

Nervous moments awaited the Paradise faithful as Hearts thew everything at a goal that would have seen them earn the point needed to lift the title.

As the eight minutes of added time edged towards their conclusion, Hearts goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow went forward for a corner.

It was Celtic, not Hearts, though, who would score at the death, as Osmand broke from the corner and, with two teammates either side, passed into the empty net.

? “Celtic, Champions AGAIN!”

Callum Osmand ensures Celtic’s title is retained by tapping the ball into an empty net ?? pic.twitter.com/AVUZtqAIEH

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 16, 2026

Fans were jubilant and as some spilt onto the pitch, Hearts players ran off. Eventually, the referee elected to blow the full-time whistle given there were just 20 seconds left when Osmand netted.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could experience those lads up there (lifting the trophy),” O’Neill told Sky Sports.

“The players, the coaching staff have given me a reason to live.

“This is the most special place on earth. When there is absolute unison in this stadium, it is a sight to behold.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain may not have played, but the day will live long in his memory and he will have felt right at home as Celtic Park sang You’ll Never Walk Alone in celebration.

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Liverpool’s final away day of the season summed up a season of struggle on the road, as the Reds finished the campaign with more away defeats than in any of the last 14 years.

While the Reds’ form at Anfield hasn’t exactly been sparkling – they have the fifth-strongest home record this season – it has been their problems away from home that have left Liverpool scraping into the top five.

Having played a game more than everyone else, the Reds are ninth in the Premier League away table, having won seven, drawn three and lost seven.

The last time Liverpool lost as many league away matches was in 2011/12, when they lost 10 times away from Anfield. That year, though, the Reds won the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final under Kenny Dalglish.

Their performances on the road this season have resulted in them picking up 1.26 points per game, which would give them almost 48 points if extrapolated across a 38-match season.

Across the 19 away games, Liverpool have scored 29 goals and conceded on 33 occasions, leaving them with an incredibly poor goal difference of -4.

To put that into context, relegation-threatened Tottenham and Nottingham Forest both have an away goal difference of +1.

Arguably the highlight of the season was Liverpool’s late 2-1 win in the first Merseyside Derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

However, there has been little else to cheer for the travelling Kop against their rivals.

When facing their fellow Premier League top-nine sides, Liverpool have earned just one point from eight matches. That one point came against Arsenal, who are surprisingly the only team that didn’t score against Arne Slot‘s team this season.

With the Reds’ loyal support having been through the mill watching their team this season, departing legend Andy Robertson thanked the fans.

Before that, though, the unused substitute made clear what he thought of Friday night’s performance at Villa Park:

“A performance which sums up our season. A long way short of the levels of this club and what you (the fans) rightly expect of us.

“But I can only thank you for the last nine years of travelling up and down the country and all over the world, packing out away ends wherever we go!

“Will see you next week for one last time.”

What should have been a celebration for Robertson and Mo Salah has turned into a fixture that could decide whether Liverpool play Champions League football next season.

The Reds have effectively had three games to wrap up qualification and not won any. Brentford will not be an easy test either.

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A social media post from Dominik Szoboszlai, advertising McDonald’s, hasn’t gone down well with Liverpool fans, just hours after the defeat to Aston Villa.

The Premier League champions looked a mile away from that yet again at Villa Park, losing 4-2 after an error-strewn performance.

Far too many Liverpool players failed to turn up at Villa Park, including Szoboszlai, who didn’t hit his early-season form and slipped to give the opposition their second.

The Hungarian was often a frustrated figure, conceding two fouls in the space of a minute at one point.

On Saturday, though, Szoboszlai produced a McDonald’s-sponsored post on Instagram, with one photo showing him fast food on a private jet.

While the post was likely contractual and scheduled, the timing of the it has been deemed tone-deaf by supporters.

I don't know why players' agents don't put a simple clause in commercial contracts that states 'social media posts not to be made within 48 hours of a defeat'.

Tone deaf and badly advised. https://t.co/e5eb0yFDdq

— Matt Ladson (@mattladson) May 16, 2026

We just lost for the 20th time and Szoboszlai is posting brand deals with McDonald’s what happened to the standards of this club??? pic.twitter.com/e5ii4bQwUK

— B. Firmz ? (@_Kotekz) May 16, 2026

Got beat 4-2 last night btw, on a plane with a quarter pounder meal, what’s happened to my club Stevie would be embarrassed to leave the house ? pic.twitter.com/7vd1ez8rPm

— Alex (@AlexLFC31) May 16, 2026

Szoboszlai consoling his disappointment last night after the Villa defeat by eating a McDonald's on his private jet. .

You have to feel sorry for the lad. pic.twitter.com/t7YInJgvsE

— The Extreme Football Enthusiast (@ExtremeFootbal4) May 16, 2026

Post 4-2 loss having Maccies on a private jet and liking self-praise comments.

We have a growing problem with Szoboszlai. #LFC pic.twitter.com/yCj7CWmwaE

— LFC Fans Corner (@LFCFansCorner) May 16, 2026

Slot blame aside, some of our players have been so wildly undisciplined and borderline delusional with their actions this season.

Mainly Szoboszlai. What he did at City plus seeing him post shit like this after yet another horror show is not being spoken about enough. pic.twitter.com/MHrYLwqLBh

— R E X (@thatrexguy) May 16, 2026

Ah swear, I don’t want Szoboszlai anywhere near our captaincy, his mentality is in the mud.?? pic.twitter.com/l1AVjxUYgP

— 22? (@ekitikEraa) May 16, 2026

I'll be honest, I've known more relatable Liverpool players than Dominik Szoboszlai. https://t.co/fngIDGEZX6

— Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) May 16, 2026

It is easy for there to be an overreaction in instances like this, but it’s hard not to feel like this was avoidable by Szoboszlai.

Liverpool’s No. 8 needed to read the room better and realise that supporters are still stinging after another sobering defeat, and don’t want to see paid posts on a private jet from their players.

Szoboszlai is being talked about as a possible successor to Virgil van Dijk as Reds captain, as mentioned, but this won’t do much to aid his audition for it.

Mohamed Salah recently talked about his fear of the standards dropping around the club when he leaves, and it is situations like this that make you worry as a fan moving forward.

This has been a glorious period of success of Anfield over the last decade, full of world-class players and great professionalism, and seeing all that hard work come undone would be a travesty.

As mentioned, there is no need for Szoboszlai to be ripped to shreds for this, but it is rather indicative of a season where Liverpool’s levels have dropped enormously.

Just wait a bit longer before doing something like this, Dom!

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