Celtic retained their seven-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with an easy 2-0 win over 10-man Partick at Parkhead . The home side laid siege to the Thistle defence at the start of the match but had to rely on a Kris Commons penalty a minute before the break to give them the interval lead . Thistle midfielder James Craigen had been shown a straight red card by referee Willie Collum for a 'last man ' foul on Hoops midfielder Stuart Armstrong to concede the spot-kick . leaving the visitors a player down for the second half . Stuart Armstrong is brought down by Partick Thistle 's James Craigen leading to a penalty . Referee Willie Collum shows Craigen a read card for his 'last man ' challenge on Armstrong . Celtic striker Kris Commons steps up to convert the penalty to give his side a 1-0 lead before the break . Commons ( right ) races away to celebrates his 45th minute penalty strike . Midfielder Stefan Johansen , stand-in skipper in the absence of suspended Scott Brown , added a second in the 63rd minute as the encounter turned into a Hoops procession . With second-placed Aberdeen beating Inverness 1-0 , Ronny Deila 's side maintained the gap over the Dons but also have a game in hand as the title race draws closer to conclusion . With a heavy schedule in mind , the Hoops boss returned midfielder Nir Bitton , Gary Mackay-Steven and striker John Guidetti his starting line-up . Thistle manager Alan Archibald was forced into one change with forward Kallum Higginbotham coming in for the injured Kris Doolan but he was mostly a spectator as the Firhill defence was forced to withstand an early Hoops ' barrage . Celtic came close twice before two minutes had elapsed . Stefan Johansen doubles Celtic 's advantage in the 63rd minute with left-footed shot into the bottom corner . Johansen is mobbed by his team-mates following his second-half strike . Parkhead defender Virgil van Dijk , up for a corner , flicked an Armstrong cross against the crossbar at the near post before a desperate blocking tackle by Maryhill defender Conrad Balatoni prevented an almost certain goal from Johansen 's drive . Balatoni again came to Thistle rescue in the ninth minute , beating Guidetti to a header in front of an empty goal , after left-back Emilio Izaguirre had troubled Fox after surging into the penalty area . Moments later , Mackay-Steven was set up Johansen but his goalbound drive from 12 yards was deflected away by Thistle defender Callum Booth . Yet , in the 21st minute , in a rare attack , the visitors almost snatched the lead but Higginbotham 's spectacular volley from 14 yards was saved by Craig Gordon - but only on the stretch . Commons ' long-distance drive in the 28th minute just cleared the bar but a minute before the break he was more accurate from the spot , firing the penalty low into the corner giving the despairing Fox no chance . Leigh Griffiths spurns a glorious opportunity to put Celtic 3-0 ahead late in the match . The goal came as some relief to the home fans who had grown slightly irritated as the first half wore on . Two minutes after the break Commons forced Fox into a decent save with a powerful 25-yard drive and while the Maryhill defence cleared their lines from rebound it looked ominous . Thistle continued to defend stoutly and desperately in equal measures but were undone again when Johansen took a clever Guidetti pass before rolling the ball into the corner of the net from 10 yards . Two minutes after replacing Guidetti , Leigh Griffiths somehow turned a Mackay-Steven cross past the far post from two yards out but it was inconsequential . In the 79th minute , with the game drifting , Gordon made another good save , this time from Thistle substitute Gary Fraser , on for Stuart Bannigan . Johansen came close at the other end with a chip which Fox tipped over the bar , after the Norwegian had weaved his way through the Jags defence .
Kris Commons fired Celtic into the lead on the stroke of half-time . Partick Thistle's James Craigen was sent off before the penalty . Stefan Johansen doubled the home side 's advantage in the 21st minute .