Celtic remained top of the Scottish Premiership with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Dundee at Parkhead.

Two second-half goals inside seven minutes from Alistair Johnston - his fourth of the season - and a penalty from £11 million midfielder Arne Engels were finally enough to see the Scottish champions home against Tony Docherty's Taysiders.

Brendan Rodgers made six changes to the starting lineup from the Celtic team that defeated Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park on Sunday. In came Greg Taylor, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tony Ralston, Arne Engels, Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-Jun and out went Alex Valle, Liam Scales, Alistair Johnston, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn.

There was a minute of applause before kick-off for Celtic legend Tommy Callaghan who sadly passed away last week.

It was Kasper Schmeichel who was called into action almost immediately when he dived to his right to superbly parry away Juan Portales's low effort that was netbound.

Kyogo was then guilty of missing two gilt-edged chances as he first forced Dundee goalkeeper John McCracken into a decent save before inexplicably dragging a shot wide from less than six yards out with the goal gaping.

Celtic were frustrated by a resolute Dundee rearguard and it remained goalless at the interval. Rodgers rang the changes at the break as Reo Hatate, Alistair Johnston and Daizen Maeda replaced Anthony Ralston, Luis Palma and Paolo Bernardo.

It paid immediate dividends as Celtic finally made the breakthrough on the hour mark and it was one of Rodgers's super sub who made the difference. A cross from the right from Yang took a fortuitous nick off a Dundee defender and Johnston stabbed it into the back of the net. 

Seven minutes later it was 2-0 after Arne Engels coolly stroked a penalty down the middle of the goal after Kyogo was clumsily clipped in the box by Portales.

Celtic were fairly comfortable after that as Rodgers's side eased down to the final whistle with Johnston's half-hour cameo enough to win him the man-of-the-match award.

It was a night when Celtic's fringe men failed to sparkle and the tried and tested rode to the rescue. Rodgers will be well aware that reinforcements in the wide areas will be a number one priority come January.

The return of Luis Palma 7

The Honduran was handed a rare first-team start but he was another who was reluctant to go down the line and take on his man. He flattered to deceive at times and did sling over one fantastic cross with the outside of the boot which Yang was inches away from converting. He warmed the hands of John McCracken with a drive early in the second half. Palma didn't add much to the side and at this rate, he will still be lucky to be at the club in January. Greg Taylor grew ever frustrated at the amount of times he couldn't shunt the ball to him and when he gave away cheap possession. A massive opportunity was spurned for Palma and he is nowhere near displacing Daizen Maeda from the starting lineup. He is also not as good a player as Palma thinks he is. Palma showed why he is not quite up to the task for Celtic at the moment and he irritated and frustrated his teammates and supporters in equal measure. It was no surprise when he was replaced by Maeda on 56 minutes.

Yang is not back with a bang

What an opportunity Yang had to give Rodgers food for thought moving forward. However, the South Korean winger was largely ineffective for spells. Like Palma on the other flank, he wasn't as direct as he should have been and he wasted a golden chance to impress the Irishman. It is clear to see why both he and Palma have been nowhere near the first team of late. He will continue to warm the bench on this form. It might also be worth recommending that he goes out on loan in January. It also highlighted the fact that Celtic could well be doing with recruiting another winger in the January transfer window. Ironically it was Johnston who profited from Yang's poor cross that was deflected into his path for the crucial opener after the hour mark. It was Yang's final contribution in a poor display and he was substituted for James Forrest immediately after.

Killer Kyogo's touch seems to have deserted him in front of goal

On another night Kyogo could have helped himself to a hat-trick or even more. However, the Japanese talisman is struggling in front of goal this season. He has been the main culprit of missed sitters and his profligacy in front of goal has been a recurring theme of his play. The 29-year-old was guilty of missing gilt-edged opportunities that the Kyogo of old would have put away in his sleep. There seems to be an element of desperation about Kyogo at times as he is making uncharacteristic errors whenever he gets into goalscoring positions. On the plus side, it was his clever run inside Portales that led to him being fouled for the penalty which Engels scored with aplomb.

AJ makes it four for the season

Alistair Johnston can do no wrong at the minute. Everything the Canadian touches is turning to gold. Celtic's stand-in skipper on Sunday netted the clinching goal against Motherwell at Fir Park. He was at it again as he repeated the dose and scored within minutes of being flung into the fray. Johnston was on hand to pounce and slot home from close range after Yang's cross from the right had been diverted into his path. It was Johnston's fourth goal of the season and first strike at home. It was an inspired substitution from the Celtic manager and it eased the nerves and tension that were starting to build in Glasgow's east end. Johnston really is at the top of his game right now and it is a small wonder why his outstanding form was rewarded with the captaincy in Callum McGregor's absence. He leads by example always.