Celtic win but lose Larsson

Celtic 2 Livingston 1

Celtic 2 Livingston 1

Chris Sutton kept alive Celtic's quadruple dream with a late winner to sink Livingston at Parkhead this afternoon.

But their historic trophy haul could have suffered a major setback after Henrik Larsson was rushed to hospital with a suspected broken jaw.

Celtic closed the gap on their arch-rivals Rangers back to three points after the Light Blues' victory over Dunfermline yesterday and they had the Englishman and Shaun Maloney to thank.

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The youngster was involved in Sutton's winner and Momo Sylla's equaliser after Rolando Zarate had threatened to destroy their SPL title hopes.

But despite the three points, the biggest scare of all was the sight of Larsson leaving the field and with the double-header with Rangers and UEFA Cup clashes against Stuttgart just weeks away it could be a major blow to their trophy quest this season.

Livingston caused Celtic more problems than most top-flight sides had managed and they signalled their intentions in the third minute.

Stilian Petrov brought down Zarate to the left of the area and the Spanish player stepped up himself to curl a right-foot shot towards the top corner, but Celtic goalkeeper Magnus Hedman moved quickly to his left to turn the effort around the post.

The home side responded by carving out a great opportunity for Larsson two minutes later.

Sutton picked out the Swede in the centre of goal and six yards out, but his header was brilliantly kept out by Main.

But Larsson was hurt after appearing to collide with Gustave Bahoken and he was forced to leave the field as he mopped up blood and he was replaced by Maloney.

Maloney looked lively after his arrival, but his low 25-yard shot was too ambitious and Main had the easiest of saves to make.

Livingston took heart from the Swede's early departure, but Brinquin was booked in the 41st minute after a late challenge on Jamie Smith.

But the home side were in shock again in the 52nd minute when the visitors took a surprise lead.

Joos Valgaeren's back-pass was too short and Zarate nipped in and rounded the advancing goalkeeper and fired into the back of the empty net.

As expected the Livingston defence found themselves under siege and referee McCurry was a brave man to turn down a penalty claim from Celtic in the 56th minute as the pace picked up dramatically.

Moments later Hoops boss Martin O'Neill made a bold move by replacing Laursen with Steve Guppy before Main did well to turn Smith's effort over the crossbar.

McCurry continued to frustrate the Celtic fans as he awarded Livingston a free-kick after Lennon had tackled Zarate but Hedman comfortably saved his effort before the Livingston man was replaced by Barry Wilson.

The pressure payed off when Celtic got themselves on level terms in the 75th minute.

Maloney's superb free-kick rebounded back off the post and Sylla was the quickest to react to divert the ball into the back of the net from six yards.

And it was the youngster who played a major role in the 85th-minute winner when Main kept out another of his free-kicks and this time Sutton was on hand to knock home the rebound.

Valgaeren made up for his earlier mistake with a well-timed challenge on Wilson in the box with just three minutes remaining.

Those late moments kept Celtic's trophy hopes alive - but now all thoughts turned to Larsson.