Aberdeen 1 Celtic 3: Scott McDonald fired a clinical double as Celtic came from behind to move four points clear of Rangers with only their second away win of the year.

The Australian ensured Gordon Strachan’s men go into next Saturday’s Old Firm derby on top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with some expert finishing.

Chris Maguire nodded Aberdeen in front but Celtic got on top after Gary Caldwell’s header was diverted into the roof of the net by Dons defender Andrew Considine moments before the break.

McDonald got away from his marker to drill home in the 72nd minute and he notched again in injury-time as Celtic controlled the final stages.

The visitors’ last league defeat came at Pittodrie in January when they conceded four goals from crosses, two of them Charlie Mulgrew free-kicks, but they showed composure and determination to bounce back from a goal from the same source.

The only worry ahead of the trip to Ibrox was the sight of Stephen McManus being taken off again.

Man of the match McDonald hailed Celtic’s second-half performance, saying: “Aberdeen are always a tough team to play against and, when you come to Pittodrie, you know you’re going to get a hard game.

“You know the first 20 minutes, half an hour, they’re really going to come at you and it’s how you deal with that.

“I thought we dealt with it okay and we gave away a stupid free-kick and, as we saw the last time we were up here, that was our Achilles heel.

“But, thankfully enough, maybe a bit of fortune getting back into it before half-time and I thought we played excellently in the second half.”

McDonald, who felt he could have had a hat-trick today is now looking forward to next Saturday’s Old Firm game, which Celtic will go into on top of the table regardless of Rangers’ result against Hearts tomorrow.

He said: “We’ll wait and see what their result is. If it’s only one point, it’s one point. It’s game on and still would have been whether we won lost or drew.”