Ten-man Caley Thistle put up a brave performance against Celtic at Pittodrie but eventually lost 3-1 to last season's champions.
The Highlanders had Juanjo sent off early on in controversial circumstances after an incident involving Neil Lennon, but held on to a 1-1 scoreline for 73 minutes of the game.
Despite a fifth minute Alan Thompson free-kick, it was Caley who started brightest and a good seventh minute Roy McBain run resulted in a corner and a period of prolonged Caley pressure.
In the 12th minute Celtic's on-loan striker Henri Camara managed his first shot on goal, but he pulled it wide from 15 yards.
The game's first flashpoint came in the 17th minute. Lennon appeared to lift his arm to Juanjo in an off-the-ball incident and the Spaniard's retaliation earned him a red card, while the Celtic midfielder escaped unpunished.
Martin O'Neill's side made the one-man advantage count by opening the scoring after 24 minutes. Didier Agathe's cross from the right was met by the head of John Hartson who glanced the ball into the far corner of the net.
Five minutes before the break Caley nearly found themselves on level terms. Barry Wilson's first effort was deflected by David Marshall but when the ball fell to Liam Keogh the ex-Celtic youngster fired just over the bar.
Miraculously, just a minute later the newly-promoted, ten-man Highland outfit made it 1-1.
Bobo Balde was adjudged to have handled in the area, and a penalty was awarded. Wilson stepped up and sent Marshall the wrong way with the spot-kick.
Camara looked sharp at the start of the second half and five minutes after the interval he saw a header crash off the crossbar.
Seconds later a Ross Wallace corner was met by the head of Hartson, but this time he steered it wide.
Celtic's pressure was relentless and Hartson again went close with a long-range drive that was brilliantly saved by ex-Rangers stopper Mark Brown.
The Bhoys were awarded a 67th minute penalty when Stuart Golabek handled the ball in the area. Stilian Petrov stepped up but Brown saved his effort well.
The Bulgarian wasn't to be denied however, and 30 seconds later he unleashed an unstoppable 20-yard drive into the bottom right-hand corner to give Celtic the lead and make amends for his missed spot-kick.
Nine minutes later Hartson put the game beyond doubt. Brown parried a cross away, preventing Camara getting on the end of it but the Welsh international was there to fire it home from ten yards.
Caley managed one final surge when a corner from the right led to a goalmouth scramble but despite having two efforts cleared off the line, Celtic held on to earn all three points.