There was something rather ominous about how Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers viewed the 2-2 Scottish Premiership draw with Aberdeen inside Parkhead at the weekend.

The Scottish champions had dropped their first two points of the season as Jimmy Thelin's side from the Granite City rallied from 0-2 down to grab a share of the spoils in Glasgow. Cue hyperbole and social media kneejerk and overreaction as Celtic failed to win a football match - it happens.

That's the nature of competitive sport. It's a healthy thing. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton talked up the Reds by insisting they were the real deal. Sutton said: “I think the confidence has been there from Jimmy Thelin’s team this season. This result and the nature of the comeback [meant] the confidence would have gone up a notch, and at this moment, they [Aberdeen] are in a title race.

“I think everybody now takes Aberdeen seriously.”

Rodgers was more measured in his assessment. He refused to be drawn into whether Aberdeen were serious title contenders before we had reached Halloween. The Reds did enough to spook Celtic for 15 minutes in the second half which saw Parkhead rocked to its foundations as the Dons pegged back the two-goal deficit. However, the Irishman remained calm in his after-match reflections and opined: "Overall, when you don't win a game, especially at Celtic Park, it will always feel like a defeat. I still expect us to be better and we will be."

You see that's the thing here. Aberdeen are riding the crest of a wave under Thelin and are 14 matches unbeaten in all competitions. Lots of stuff went the Reds way at the weekend. Aberdeen was resolute and they showed exactly why defending is an art. Celtic went AWOL between the 50th and 60th minutes and were ruthlessly punished by a team that is joint top of the table on merit.

The clash between the Scottish Premiership's top two certainly lived up to its billing. It showcased Scottish football's top flight in a wonderful light. It was a brilliant advert for our game. It was in short a cracking game of football. In the cold light of day, Rodgers is probably not worried about the threat or otherwise of Aberdeen. When Celtic got it right as they did in the first half to carve out a 2-0 lead the visitors could get nowhere near them.

As much as Reo Hatate and Arne Engels ran the opening period proceedings the duo alongside skipper Callum McGregor were conspicuous by their absence when Aberdeen clawed their way back into the match.

It took the introduction of Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan to stem that particular tide and turn it into a one-way traffic game again. Celtic threw the proverbial sink at the Reds and a combination of poor finishing, superb goalkeeping, profligacy and good old-fashioned last-ditch blocking and defending somehow saw Aberdeen plunder a point. You can argue the toss whether it was merited all day or not. They got it. How the Reds must have impressed former Aberdeen boss Sir Alex Ferguson who was an interested spectator in the stands.

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On another day Celtic could have won this match 4-2, 5-2 or even 6-2. The hosts had eight clear-cut chances to score after had levelled the match. Celtic created 33 goalscoring opportunities yet only seven of those were on target. Rodgers's men enjoyed 73 per cent possession with 747 attempted passes (647 executed) and 87 per cent pass completion. Celtic were dominant for large spells of the match, but the overriding feeling of frustration among the supporters as they trudged away from Glasgow's east end was that the champions were rather wasteful in front of goal.

That is a truism that cannot be denied. Even Japanese talisman Kyogo Furuhashi who got on the scoresheet was guilty of missing a gilt-edged opportunity which would have put the game beyond the Reds' reach at 3-0 before Ester Sokler clinically buried his opportunity to bring Aberdeen roaring back into the contest. Sokler's goal changed the complexion of the match, for sure, Aberdeen grew in belief and claimed a huge slice of luck when Graeme Shinnie's effort spun in off the luckless Auston Trusty to tie the game at 2-2.

Are Celtic in a title race? For the time being... yes. Rodgers though has been over the course and distance many times with Celtic. The fact that his men didn't win the match has led to lots of naval gazing and some unjust criticism. There was still lots to admire about Celtic, particularly in the opening period when Hatate and Engels were the midfield architects who had helped carve out the 2-0 lead in the first place. When Celtic played their brand of football, Aberdeen couldn't get near them or live with them.

It is the 15-minute second-half collapse that saw Celtic cough up two goals - it could have been three had Duk's goal not been ruled out for handball - which is the issue which Rodgers will need to address moving forward. As Rodgers said: We are disappointed. We had really good control of the game in the first half and we could have had more goals. We got punished for a careless period between the 50th and 60th minute.

"We weren't aggressive enough in our pressure. The way we play because of the compactness and tightness in the team being high means that if you don't press well then you are always susceptible to that pass in behind.

"That is what happened and the guy finishes it well. The second goal is careless as we give the ball away in a really poor area. That was the frustration and once we get to 2-2 we find our rhythm again and our speed."

Celtic did find their rhythm again and their speed which should have seen them run out comfortable winners in the end. However the 51-year-old also offered up another astute soundbite when he said: "We just couldn't find the killer instinct... in the last 15 minutes or so."

Many Celtic supporters and probably Rodgers and the players themselves simply believed that the winning goal would come as it has done so many times in the past. This time it didn't arrive. It happens. You can't win them all. It now remains to be seen whether Thelin's Aberdeen can go the distance.

Celtic according to Rodgers will just keep calm and carry on. The only team that will stop Celtic from winning the Scottish Premiership title this season is Celtic themselves. "I still expect us to be better and we will be."

Aberdeen may have left Celtic 'shaken not stirred' at the weekend but you can usually take Rodgers's statement to the bank on such matters. Rather ominously, his word is his 'Bond'.