Aberdeen 1 Celtic 2:Two moments of magic from Shunsuke Nakamura gave Celtic a deserved victory over Aberdeen to put them only three victories away from securing a second successive Bank of Scotland Premier League title.

Nakamura set-up Craig Beattie's opener thanks to a deft pass which released the striker to score with a well-placed shot, while the Japanese midfielder added a second courtesy of a terrific, trademark free kick.

Aberdeen had a first-half penalty appeal turned down when Steven Pressley appeared to handle and, although Darren Mackie pulled a goal back late on, it was not enough to derail Celtic's charge towards the championship.

Scott Severin had been arguably Aberdeen's most industrious midfielder without venturing far enough forward to shoot, before he eventually tested Artur Boruc in the 72nd minute with a searing shot which was well pushed away.

Both teams then made changes, with the tireless Craig Beattie coming off for Aiden McGeady, while the Dons brought on Daniel Smith for Steve Lovell, as Darren Mackie moved up front alongside Lee Miller.

It was Celtic who created the next chance, when Jiri Jarosik found room in the box to turn a low shot towards goal, which was comfortably saved by Jamie Langfield.

For Aberdeen, Christopher Maguire tried his luck from 25 yards, but the teenager's left-footed shot was poor and carried well wide.

By this stage, Celtic looked assured of another victory and happily stroked the ball about in midfield, much to the adulation of the away support, who cheered every pass.

However, the Dons gave the visitors a scare in the final minute, when Miller's flick sent Mackie through on goal and the 25-year-old beat Boruc with a low shot which crept inside the near post.

Aberdeen continued to drive on in injury-time, but could not find away past a determined Celtic backline, as Gordon Strachan's side extended their unbeaten run in the SPL to 26 matches.