Celtic defender Greg Taylor has admitted he was surprised to come up against Aberdeen's defensive approach on Saturday.
The Dons sat in a low block for the entirety of the 90-minutes at Pittodrie, which eventually finished 1-0 to the visitors.
Jim Goodwin's side ended the encounter with only 19 percent possession and just two shots on goal - both of which were off target.
Callum McGregor eventually struck three minutes from time on the edge of the box to seal the deserved win for Ange Postecoglou's side.
The defensive Dons were heavily criticised for their tactics, with both Willie Miller and Michael Stewart branding the performance "unacceptable".
And, while respecting each team's needs to get a result, Taylor admits he was a bit taken aback.
He said: "If I’m honest we expected them to come out and have more of a go. But every team has their belief on how they can get a result against us so fair play to them.
“They will probably feel because the game went on so long at 0-0 that they were hard done by. But if we analyse the performance they will realise there was only one team ever going to win the game.
“I don’t know what the possession stats were but we dominated the ball and the chances. I think it would have been pretty harsh if we had not come away with the three points.”
Taylor was delighted to see returning skipper McGregor get on the scoresheet.
He added: “It is massive to have the captain back and to get the winning goal and the man-of-the-match award on his first game after injury is not a bad return.
"Fair play to Cal, he’s worked ever so hard on his rehab and he’s come back the same way he started the season. It’s not easy to come back after 10 weeks out. A guy like Cal thrives on playing and he regularly plays 50 or 60 games a season.
“You know how hard he would find being on the sidelines and looking on. It’s important to realise the boys who played when he was out put in such a massive shift because Cal is irreplaceable for us.
“It was unbelievable from them but Saturday was about Cal and the team and he was superb. It’s brilliant to have him back. Hopefully he can stay fit for the rest of the season.
"It’s not just one player that could fill the role that Cal has because he’s so vital to us.
“The whole game goes through him, he breaks up play, he creates chances and scores. It’s such a vital time in the season for him to come back.
“He’s not just a superb player but he makes everyone around him better and that’s an unbelievable quality for an individual to have in a team game. We had a break and a good strong week in Portugal and that’s probably helped Callum reintegrate with the group."
