Levein drew inspiration from Bhoys’ Euro defeat
Brendan Rodgers and his team, Hearts took full advantage with two second-half David Milinkovic goals. Hammered 5-0 and 7-0 by Paris Saint-Germain already this season, Levein used Celtic’s most recent Champions League defeat as his template, revealing: ‘We based our game plan on the Anderlecht game in terms of the high press, being brave at the back and going man-for-man at times. ‘It’s a difficult thing to do because if they cut you open, you could be 3-0 down before you bat an eyelid. ‘The recovery runs from when they went to press and it didn’t work were the things that made all the difference today.’ Recently compelled to respond to criticism from former Hearts player and BBC pundit Michael Stewart, Levein admitted the thumping of an unbeaten Celtic was a hugely satisfying result. ‘It’s certainly up there,’ he said. ‘With the nature of the circumstances and everything that has happened in the last year, it’s pleasing. ‘All credit to Celtic to be in a position of going into a game to try and go 70 without defeat. ‘It shows a huge level of commitment, effort and quality to be able to do that. I’m just pleased our lads managed to be the team to end that run. ‘I wouldn’t say Celtic couldn’t go on another run and get to 70 the next time. That’s the quality they’ve got. From that point of view, it was pleasing for me that we could go toe-to-toe and take something from them.’ Missing defender John Souttar, winger Jamie Walker and midfielder Arnaud Djoum, Levein paid tribute to some unsung heroes. ‘Michael Smith was the one probably doing something that was most unusual but I thought he was fantastic today,’ added Levein. ‘He’s an experienced player who reads the game well and has decent pace. I thought him and Christophe (Berra) did well against a clever and talented Celtic front line.’
CRAIG LEVEIN last night hailed the tactical triumph that led to Hearts shattering Celtic’s 69-game unbeaten domestic record.
The Tynecastle boss revealed that he had taken inspiration from the way Belgian champions Anderlecht had played against Brendan Rodgers’ side during their recent Champions League victory at Parkhead.
And it paid off in remarkable fashion, with yesterday’s stunning 4-0 triumph Hearts’ biggest margin of victory against the Scottish champions in 123 years.
It was the first domestic defeat for the Parkhead side since they lost to St Johnstone in May 2016.
Sixteen-year-old Harry Cochrane earned his Man of the Match award with a stunning opening strike, Kyle Lafferty adding a second before half-time.
On a day of defensive calamity for