Scott Sinclair gave Celtic all three points against Aberdeen with an improvised backheel that proved to be the only goal of the game at Celtic Park.

The Englishman had come off the bench after an injury to Odsonne Edourad who was caught by Scott McKenna in the opening period.

It has been a difficult start to the season for Sinclair and how he relished the celebrations in the aftermath of his winner.

Celtic had the bulk of the possession but Aberdeen proved to be dangerous on the counter-attack.

Although Celtic dominated in the opening period, the biggest talking point was the flying tackle from McKenna on Edouard that ended the striker's involvement in the game.

The Frenchman had clipped the post earlier with a ferocious drive from the edge of the box but shortly after, Edouard was taken down by a two-footed challenge from the Aberdeen defender.

Immediate impressions suggested a penalty and a red card although neither were forthcoming. Indeed, the challenge itself went unpenalised by referee Bobby Madden.

Edouard went off for treatment but his return to the pitch was short lived with Sinclair forced to replace him.

Craig Gordon ensured the scores stayed level when he stuck out his left leg to deny Gary Mackay-Steven after the player had weaved his way through the Celtic defence.

Gordon was called into action again in the second period when he had to be alert to bat away an effort from James Wilson before Celtic broke the deadlock.

James Forrest, with the ink still trying on his new contract with the club, was tenacious as he collected the ball and looked to cut inside. His delivery into the box got stuck under the feet of Leigh Griffiths but as the Aberdeen scrambled to clear the danger, Sinclair nicked in with a cheeky back-heel into the corner of the net.

And how the Englishman enjoyed his celebrations. Indicative of the frustrations he has clearly felt as he has struggled to replicate the form of his inaugural season at the club, Sinclair let loose when the ball hit the back of the net.

For a short period after that, Celtic threatened to do the same.

With their tails up there was a spell when Celtic looked to go and add to the scoreline with Griffiths blasting a free-kick into the arms of Joe Lewis and the Parkhead side zipping the ball about with some tempo.

Still, though, Aberdeen posted notice of their threat when a Mackay-Steven free-kick was deflected wide by Michael Devlin.

Griffiths ought to have cemented the points with the last kick of the ball after racing through but his effort was just wide of the target.