Jota was Celtic’s hero at Pittodrie for a second time this season as the Portuguese ended Aberdeen’s hopes of a stunning comeback to extend the leaders unbeaten run to 20 games.
The on-loan Benfica man- who netted the winner here back in October - bagged a double in the north east in a breathless encounter that had excitement and controversy in equal measure.
Ange Postecoglou’s men looked to be sailing to victory after Jota and Matt O’Riley netted inside three first half minutes to put them two up at the break.
But the Dons found their form after the restart and Christian Ramirez and Lewis Ferguson scored in quick succession to level.
It was astonishing stuff but that lasted for all of a minute as Jota grabbed his second to restore the lead for the visitors on a breathless night.
However, the home side were furious as Liel Abada looked to be in an offside position at the winner before the Dons were denied a penalty by Willie Collum when O’Riley appeared to foul Ferguson.
The defeat leaves Aberdeen without a win in five league games now but Celtic dug out another huge win.
Declan Gallagher was back in the side for a rare appearance following his injury problems as Glass set up to contain the swashbuckling Hoops with a three-man central defence.
And the Dons looked solid enough early on in that new system with Vicente Besuijen supporting Christian Ramirez in attack.
But the visitors did carve out a good chance before the quarter of an hour mark as Anthony Ralston delivered a deep cross only for Daizen Maeda to send his free header wide.
That was a warning for the Reds and they didn’t heed it as they fell behind shortly after that chance with some powderpuff defending.
O’Riley sent in a cross from the right and stand-in keeper Gary Woods and Calvin Ramsay failed to take ownership and that allowed Jota to nip in and score the opener.
If that was poor play then there was a huge slice of misfortune at the manner in which they fell further behind just three minutes later.
Callum McGregor’s chip into the box was headed out as far O’Riley who took it first time and his effort was deflected which wrong footed Woods to take it low into the corner.
It summed up Aberdeen’s luck and left them with a mountain to climb and the home side never tested Joe Hart.
They found a new lease of life after the restart and Ross McCrorie sent a teasing ball across goal which Ramirez just failed to get on the end of.
But they got level through the American thanks to a move straight off the training ground as Funso Ojo cut the ball back from a free kick and he rifled home.
Ramirez had the ball in the net again only for it to be ruled offside but from there incredibly the Dons hauled themselves level with another free kick as again Ojo delivered and Ferguson headed home.
Pittodrie erupted but the lead didn’t even last a minute as Celtic got their noses back in front in controversial fashion.
Ralston’s header found its way through to Jota and the Portuguese sent a downward shot over Woods.
It was a sickener for Dons and to it was made worse by the fact they are convinced Abada was in an offside position as the ball was played through.
And the home side had more reason to be angered when Willie Collum denied them a penalty after O’Riley barged Ferguson over in the box.
Aberdeen kept pushing and Ferguson bent a free kick just over but they couldn’t find the game’s sixth goal.
Here’s three talking points from Pittodrie
Ref justice
It was hard enough for Aberdeen to take defeat but the sense of injustice at Celtic’s winner made it more frustrating
They had fought their way back into a game that looked beyond them as they trailed by two goals at the break.
Few would have given them any chance at that but the key was staying on level terms after their quick-fire double.
But parity wasn’t even restored for a minute when Jota got his second of the match which was a real sickener.
And what made it worse was that Abada appeared to be offside at Celtic’s third and Glass was incensed.
Worse was to come from whistler Willie Collum who denied the Dons a penalty when O’Riley barged Ferguson.
Matt finish
While he was involved in that penalty claim for Aberdeen, O’Riley has been so impressive for Celtic.
"I can tell you there are no other offers out there, we haven't spoken to anyone else,” said Postecoglou in the middle of January.
It came after Celtic had missed out on Riley McGree and gave the impression all their transfer business was done.
And that’s why the arrival of Matt O’Riley came out of left field just a week after Postecoglou made that statement.
The Hoops had done so much of their business early on with the the three J-League recruits who had been known about for some time.
But if O’Riley slipped in under the radar then the same certainly can’t be said of the former MK Dons man on the park.
The 21-year-old has made a big impact and has taken the step up from League One in England to Scotland’s top flight in his stride.
O’Riley netted his first goal in the Hoops after setting up the opener and is quickly becoming a real key player.
Shattered Glass
The Dons boss was feeling the pressure before this game and as the boos were ringing around Pittodrie at half time it didn’t look good.
Had the second 45 minutes panned out the same way as the first half then he would have had questions to answer.
While you don’t get points for showing a bit of fight, at least the home side rallied after the break to produce a performance for the fans.
It doesn’t change much in terms of the league table and that is ultimately where Stephen Glass will be judged and they are now ninth.
Aberdeen are 15 points worse off than they were after the same amount of games last season - and that was when things were supposedly bad under Derek McInnes.
Glass needs results - qui
